The:Surrogate
by edwardscichands
Summary: Ren Amamiya (Akira Kurusu) is taken to the P3 timeline that's been changed up a bit. Will he save the world again, or will he crash and burn? But he seems to have another problem. A girl that just wouldn't act her age, and a girl who seems to know this place unusually well...
1. A:new:beginning

Well, there's the first chapter. Hope you guys like it (at least more than the previous fic).

Review, Favorite, and Follow if you liked this. Every one of your favs and follows is EXTREMELY important, and even just one would be enough to drive me to continue. If you can just take some time and just press the heart and follow, it would be a great help.

I'll be answering the reviews if you leave it.

Anyway, this is Edwards, and peace out. Enjoy the fic.

* * *

Wake up. Go to school. Come back. Do homework. Sleep. Repeat.

These were the everyday processes of Akira a few months after his retirement from the Phantom Thieves.

He had decent friends in that school, but he could never forget the friends he had back in Tokyo. In fact, it would be one hell of an effort if he tries to forget them.

He fought with them, talked to each and one of them almost every day, and took a rollercoaster ride with them for months on. He experiences the lows, and also their highs.

Akira could also never forget that shot of the last bullet, which fired from his pistol, and shot into Yaldabaoth.

Those last moments, burned into his hands, just became his dream every day.

He would always wiggle his fingers, in attempt to mimic a gun in his grip.

He pulled the trigger on his invisible gun, made gun noises with his mouth, and snickered at himself of what a child he is.

"But...maybe it's not too bad." Akira said as he smiled. Morgana, who was now living with him, also snickered.

"Heh. It's only normal for this to happen. Although it's a shame that you lost your Meta-nav, its maybe for the best." Morgana said. Akira nodded.

"Yeah. You're right. Perhaps it's just for the best." Akira said as he stared at the ceiling.

Silence ensued, and Akira stared at the ceiling for another good minute and sat up straight.

"You miss being a Phantom Thief too, don't you Morgana?" Akira said as he smirked. Morgana flinched back in surprise.

"n-No! I completely think it's just the natural course of things-"

"Yeahhhhh... Natural course. I'll take that as a yes." Akira said as he laughed. Morgana groaned as he scratched his ears with his legs.

"...I guess you got me there then. I do miss being a Phantom Thief. The truth is, I myself is kinda getting used to this cat visual." Morgana said as he yawned.

"You wanna sleep or get some snack?" Akira said. Morgana put his head down in thought and answered.

"Sleep. I'll save the tuna cans for later." Morgana said. Akira nodded.

"Alright, lights out. Sleep tight Morgana." Akira said.

"You too Akira." Morgana said as he laid down on the soft clump of bedsheets.

Akira turned off the lights and jumped on his bed.

He took off his glasses and closed his eyes.

"Heh...maybe I'll wake up in the Velvet Room tomorrow..." Akira said as he laid back and slept.

* * *

"Mmm...Morgana...just two more minutes..." Akira said as he felt a nudge against his shoulders and back.

The tapping soon turned into a violent push, and Akira fell off his bed.

"AHH! Come on, Morgana! It's the weekend!" Akira said as he rubbed his eyes.

But now that he thinks about it, that didn't feel like Morgana's gentle and soft paws, it rather felt like a bumpy wooden stick.

Akira put on his glasses and focuses his sights on his fronts. But even with his visions a bit blurry, he could already guess who it was, from the blue aura around it.

"...Lavenza?" Akira said as he fixed his glasses. "Is it.. really you?"

Akira's eyes focused onto the blue aura in the dark room, and he saw her into her glowing yellow eyes.

"Good morning, Trickster." Lavenza said. Akira stood up and hugged her at once.

"LAVENZA! I missed you so much..." Akira said as he put his head over her shoulder. Lavenza smiled and patted him on the back.

"I did too, Trickster. But I believe the meet and greet can wait later." Lavenza said as she snapped her fingers.

Soon after, a blue steel door appeared, and Akira recognized it right away.

"The Velvet Room..." Akira said. Lavenza walked towards it and looked at Akira.

"Oh, and you might want to bring everything you need to. You will be there for a while." Lavenza said as she stood in front of the door.

Akira nodded and stabbed his fingers on Morgana's tummy. Morgana yelped and woke up.

"WAH! Akira...for god's sake...what is it?" Morgana said as he stretched his body. During the process of it, Morgana noticed Lavenza.

"a-Ah! Um...Good morning. It's been a while, miss." Morgana said. Lavenza nodded.

Akira found a duffle bag in the closet of his room and began packing his clothes. Morgana jumped in front of his interest.

"What's going on? Why are you packing your bags all of a sudden? In fact, what are you doing?" Morgana asked as Akira was holding his airsoft gun. Akira smiled.

"We're coming out of retirement, that's what we're doing." Akira said. Morgana jumped in excitement.

"Yes! I've been waiting for this moment! Where are we going, miss?" Morgana asked as he neared Lavenza.

But Lavenza on the other hand looked more worried than excited. "...Is something wrong?" Akira said as he zipped his duffle bag, and picked it up.

"No...its nothing. Let's go." Lavenza said as she opened the door to the Velvet Room. Morgana and Akira nodded towards each other and entered the door.

* * *

As the duo entered, Akira looked around the Velvet Room. Morgana jumped in and stretched.

"Well...it's sure been a while." Akira said as he also stretched, with his arms wide open.

"Ah...what a nice reunion. It had surely been a while, Trickster..." A voice said. Akira grinned at that voice.

"Igor...I missed you too." Akira said as he walked towards the two chairs. Akira sat on the one on the left, and Morgana jumped on the one on the right.

Igor sighed and looked up with his wide open eyes. "My dear guest...I know it has been a while...but I have a very important task to ask." Igor said.

"What is it? Do we have to change another person's heart?" Akira asked with excitement. Igor shook his head.

"...More than that. It's..." Igor snapped his fingers and a flat square energy of light appeared in front of them.

"...!" In the image, it was a similar person that looked like she had a similar attire as Lavenza. She wore all blue, but she wore in a style of an elevator attendant.

"She's...dead?" Akira said as he pointed towards the vision, where it showed the women on the floor.

"..." Igor was silent. Lavenza was looking away and in denial.

"So...um, what do we have to do?" Morgana said. Lavenza shook her head and looked up.

"In order to save her, you must travel to that dimension where her guest was in, and prevent the event from happening." Lavenza said as she flipped open her book.

"...I'm going to guess it's not going to be that simple." Akira said. Igor nodded.

"Yes...the journey will be long, but it will be similar to the journey that you have finished a few months back." Igor said. "We would like to support you, but when you get to that dimension, we will not be the same as right now, and will be ourselves during that time. And that dimension will have varying factors compared to the one that our original guest has taken." Igor explained.

Akira and Morgana looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, we'll do it. It's not like anyone else would do it anyway." Akira said.

Lavenza smiled, and Igor nodded. "Very well. I wish on your safe journey. Please, if you will." Igor whipped his blue pen in mid-air, and a circular portal appeared.

"Wait...before you go..." Lavenza walked towards Akira and Morgana. Lavenza held out a small blue bag, and Akira put it on his hand and put it in one of the pockets of the duffle bag. "Oh, and you might want to use a fake name when you get there. It might cause a problem if people begin looking for you in that dimension." Lavenza said.

"I don't know what that bag is, but thanks!" Akira said. "Hey Morgana, why don't you jumped into the bag also? I'm pretty sure I have enough space for you." Akira said as he opened his bag.

"Well... you're awfully nice today." Morgana said as he jumped in, and Akira zipped his bag.

Akira stood up straight soon after and took in a deep breath.

"Phew...so another chapter of Akira Kurusu starts, huh? I've always wanted a sequel." Akira said as he smiled and soon took a step into the blue portal.

Igor was looking down in worry, and Lavenza was also.

"Please...be safe." Lavenza whispered.

Soon Akira's body was completely into the portal, and he was surrounded by a bright light now.

* * *

...

...

...

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay. Next stop is, Iwatodai." The announcer on the train said.

Akira shook and woke up, and he was sitting on a train. He looked around. The place wasn't packed, and it was roughly around night-time. There was a person at the end of the compartment, who had her hands in her face, possibly crying, but other than that, no one was in the train.

Akira felt a heavy weight around his shoulders, and he looked on his left. A beige-haired girl was leaning her head on his shoulders, and Akira flinched in shock.

"Um...alright." Akira said. He didn't exactly hate this, but it was making his shoulders a bit tired.

Soon Morgana pulled out his head out of the bag. "So...are we here Akira?" Morgana said as he shook his cat head. Akira nodded.

"We are...but I'm having a bit of a problem." Akira said as he looked at the girl. She was sleeping like a baby and had a white t-shirt with a black skirt. She had a decently plain attire.

"Any ideas Morgana?" Akira asked as he tried to move his head towards him without waking her up. Morgana looked down in thought.

"Hm...how about you wake her up without making her notice it's you?" Morgana said. Akira rubbed his chin.

"How would I even do that?" Akira said. He thought about it and searched his bag. He put the bag on the empty spot next to him and searched without waking her up.

"Ah! Got it..." Akira said as he found a mist spray that he put in. "Why do you even have that?!" Morgana said.

"Hey, hey. I need to take care of my beauty now." Akira said. Morgana looked in disbelief.

"...Okay, I'll be honest. I don't know why this is in here either." Akira said as he picked up the mist.

"Buuuut, that's not what was worrying about here." Akira said as he smirked and pressed on the spray softly, but a huge gush of mist sprayed in front of the girl's face.

"Oh, Shit!" Akira said. He noticed that the button on the top was too loose, so more mist came out than expected.

"Oh god, what did you do?!" Morgana said. Akira quickly disposed of the mist spray first.

"I don't know, but this thing is definitely made in China!" Akira said as he whispered to Morgana.

"Mmm...What the hell?!" The girl woke up, and she did NOT look happy.

Akira looked away and pretended to groom Morgana. "h-Hey! I'm not a girl!" Morgana said.

"Shut up!" Akira whispered. But he felt a cold hand grab his shoulders, and he stopped everything he was doing and turned back.

"You...what the hell is this...?" The girl said as she wiped her face. Akira gulped and opened his mouth.

"Um...that's...facial mist." Akira said. His entire body was shaking now, and he could feel a great deal of energy coming from her.

Akira was prepared for anything, but this time, he felt like he can die.

"Oh, okay." The girl said as she finished wiping her face, and she sat back. Akira looked dumbfounded.

"w-Wait, you're not going to do anything?!" Akira said. The girl opened her eyes and growled.

"As much as I hate this...facial mists did help my skin moisturize. So you have my thanks." The girl said. " _WHAT?! Is that really how it works?! Who even is this girl?!"_ Akira said in his mind.

He had so many questions, but the train arrived right at the moment he was about to ask the first question.

"This stop is...Iwatodai. Please do not forget your belongings when you leave." The announcer on the train said.

"Well...time to go, Morgana." Akira said as he picked up his bag. Morgana nodded and went back inside.

"Wait...wasn't someone right next to you?" The girl asked as both of them were leaving the train. Akira shrugged. The girl flinched.

"So you were talking to yourself...How fitting." The girl said. "WHAT WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Akira exclaimed.

"Geez, use your adult voice!" The girl said as she covered her ears. "Anyway, where are you going?"

Akira checked his pockets for possible instructions and took out a piece of scrap paper from the blue bag. He picked it up and read it.

"Iwatodai Dormitories..." Akira read out. The girl looked at the paper, then looked at Akira.

"Huh. So the dorm is coed. Well, looks like we're going to the same place." The girl said. "Speakin' of which, what's your name?"

Akira remembered Lavenza telling him to use a different name.

"...Ren Amamiya. What's yours?" 'Ren' said as he nodded in satisfaction of his new name.

"Mika. Mika Seno. Prepare to die if you do anything weird." The girl said as she flicked her long beige hair and smiled. " _Okay, this girl DEFINITELY has some problems..."_ Ren said as he groaned quietly.

"What was that groan for?!" Mika said as she pointed her fist at Ren. Ren shook his hands in denial. "Nothing! Nothing! Come on, let's go before it gets-"

Then the clock hit midnight, and the Dark Hour started.

The people around the halls of the subway station turned into coffins, and the walls around them all illuminated green light.

There was also blood on some walls, which Mika got close to and rubbed her finger on.

"Yep, this is definitely blood." Mika said. Ren looked in disbelief. "Yeah, I don't think this is the kind of place you would find tomato juice lying on the floor either. Isn't it pretty obvious it's blood?" Ren said.

"Well, you'd be fun at parties." Mika said as she stood up and wiped her fingers. "Come on, let's go before you piss yourself."

"Well, look who's talking." Ren said as he smiled. Mika glared. "What? Did I say anything wrong?"

"Yeah. And I'll make you pay for it." Mika said as she ran. Ren followed her in hurry. "Hey! It's just a joke! A J.O.K.E!"

Ren, although knowing being with her might be a bit of a trouble, but he was happy he could find a friend so fast.

* * *

Mika stopped in front of the dorm, and Ren huffed and sat down on the nearby bench.

"Hah…I didn't…expect…you to be…this fast…" Ren said as he nearly passed out. Mika flicked his forehead.

"That's what you get for messing with me, retard." Mika said. Ren groaned in pain.

"Well, you're not going to sleep there right?" Mika said as she pointed towards the entrance of the dorm. Ren nodded weakly, and stood up.

"Guh…I think I'm going to puke…" Ren said. Mika sighed. "At least do it when we get back…"

Mika opened the door, and Ren still held his stomach in sickness. Mika was about to pat his back, but she was interrupted when she saw a boy on the reception desk.

"Um…Hi." Mika said. The boy smiled. "It seems like you're a bit late today."

The boy wore a prison outfit and had a clipboard in front of him. The boy grabbed it and handed it to Mika.

"Here, sign your name here. And your friend over there." The boy said as he pointed towards Ren who passed out already on one of the couches.

"Ren! This ghost boy told you to sign your name here!" Mika shouted across the main hall of the dorm.

Ren weakly stood up and walked like as if he was at least 60 years older.

"Right…Here you go, kid. Have fun with my private information." Ren said as he finished writing his name and signature.

"So it begins…" The boy said, as he smiled and faded away. Ren saw this and grabbed his head in confusion.

"Mika, you made me so sick that I just gave my signature to a ghost kid in a prison outfit…" Ren said as he laid back on the couch once again. Mika shrugged.

"Well, you sometimes hallucinate when you're tired-"

"WHO'S THERE?!" A voice shouted behind him. Morgana, who was in the bag, woke up because of this scream.

"Wha- What?! What's going on Aki- I mean, Ren?!" Morgana said inside the bag. Mika noticed and stared at Ren's bag.

"Um…did your bag just talk?" Mika said. The dark figure got closer and was now a few feet away from them.

A pink-cardigan brunette faced them, with a gun to her head.

"Uh…hey, sorry to disturb your fun, but I don't think that's how you use a gun…" Mika said as she pointed at the brunette.

"Ren! Ren! Say something!" Morgana said as he bounced around the bag and popped his head out. The brunette and Mika both yelped in shock.

"a-a-A talking cat?!" Mika said in surprise.

"Um….meow?" Morgana said in hesitant fashion. The brunette screamed. "What… WHAT!?" The brunette was about to pull the trigger until another figure came down the stairs.

"Takeba, wait!" The figure said. " _Oh. Hopefully, this one doesn't put a gun to her head."_ Mika said sarcastically.

Ren already passed out on the couch, and Morgana was trying to wake him up.

He sighed and scratched his face. "Ow! Hey, a man's got to rest, Morgana!" Ren said as he woke up.

The person who came down was a tall, crimson-haired person, which it for some reason reminded Ren of Makoto.

"So, you're the leader here?" Ren took a shot. The crimson-haired women nodded.

"I didn't expect you to arrive so late." The redhead said. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." Mitsuru explained.

"Who are they?" "Takeba" asked. " _Is that seriously the right question to ask right after you tried to shoot yourself in the head in front of us?!"_ Mika thought to herself.

"They're a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign them here." Mitsuru explained.

"Is it okay for them to be here?" "Takeba" asked. " _Okay, this bitch really needs to get her thinking straight, or else I'm going to have at least a quarter of my brain cells killed everytime I see her in this dorm."_ Mika thought.

"I guess we'll see…" Mitsuru said as she put her head down in thought. " _Yeah…me too. Especially Ms. Pink Takeba over there."_ Mika and Ren thought to themselves.

"This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you." Mitsuru explained. Ren and Mika both looked at each other and sighed. " _So we have to be with her…"_ They both thought in unison.

"…Hey." She said as she had her hand out. Ren stood up and shook it. "Ren Amamiya. Nice to meet you. I think you might want to learn how to use a gun again." Ren said with a tired face. Mika nodded in agreement.

"Yeah…I don't think a gun is supposed to be shot at self if there's an enemy in front of you." Mika said as she looked down.

Yukari looked a bit insulted but held it in for some reason.

"Your room's on the second floor at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there." Mitsuru said. "Oh...I'll show you the way. Follow me." Yukari said.

"Um...I'd rather have a non-armed person lead the way-Oof!" Mika was cut off by Ren's sharp nudge on her sides.

"Know your limits, smartass!" Ren said. Mika rubbed her sides and groaned. "God...I'll get you back for this...!" Mika said Ren followed Yukari upstairs, and Mika followed Ren.

The trio climbed the stairs and faced a long hallway with 2 rooms on the left side and 3 rooms on the right side. They walked towards the one at the end of the hallway, and Yukari stopped and faced Mika and Ren.

"...Um, I don't know how to put this but...it seems like there's no room for Mika." Yukari said. Ren looked in disbelief. "What?"

"Well, looks like its back in the streets for you." Ren joked. Mika growled. "Fuck...Alright then, I'll stay in Ren's room for a while." Mika said calmly.

Yukari and Ren both looked at Mika in shock. "w-What?!" Ren said. "y-You can't just make up your own decisions like that!" Yukari exclaimed.

Mika crossed her arms and sneered. "Don't worry, as long as Ren doesn't do anything weird, I won't either." Mika said. Yukari reddened up a bit.

"Okay, not that kind of weird, but alright. I'm going in!" Mika said as she grabbed the keys from Yukari's hand and barged in.

"Sorry, she's a bit...impulsive." Ren said as he sighed. Yukari nodded. "I pity you. Good luck, and good night." Yukari said as she waved and left.

"Hey! Come in, or I'm going to lock you out of your own room!" Mika shouted across the room.

"Hey, hey. Keep it down. This is a dorm at midnight." Ren said as he walked into his room.

Morgana jumped out of the bag and went near Ren. "So, how do you like it so far?" Morgana asked. Mika was speechless when she saw this.

"So, this is the talking cat..." Mika looked in deep interest. Morgana groaned, but gave up, as he's already accepted the fact that everyone looks at him like a cat.

"Well, wash up or something...I guess. What do girls do before they sleep?" Ren said. Mika thought about for a bit.

"...Seriously? You need to think about this kind of things?" Ren said as he sighed in disbelief. "Hey! Then, what do boys do before they sleep?" Mika exclaimed.

"I dunno, brush their teeth and sleep?" Ren said. Mika sighed. "You sure they don't do anything else...?" Mika said as she gave a dirty smirk.

"No, and go to sleep before 2 am, or I'll separate your bones and muscles." Ren said. Mika nodded in defeat. "Yes, sir." And she went to the bathroom.

Ren sat on the bed and laid back. "God...she's just like a little sister. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I feel like Futaba was better than her." Ren said towards Morgana, who was cuddled up on the end of the bed.

"Well, there's a reason for her to have this kind of connection with you, probably. Ooh, maybe she's a wildcard like you!" Morgana said. Ren snickered. "Her? Wildcard? Yeah, tell me more, cuz I haven't had a good laugh for a while." Ren said.

"You never know Ren...plus, you're a complete stranger to this dimension. You'll never see it coming..." Morgana said as he closes his eyes.

"I'll pretend you didn't say that." Ren said. But Morgana didn't respond, and already fell asleep.

"...I guess you're right." Ren said as he took off his glasses and closed his eyes.

He didn't brush his teeth, but he told himself that he was going to do it tomorrow morning.


	2. First:day

"Wakey wakey, eggs and...um, what rhymes with eggs, Morgana?" Ren asked Morgana quietly, not to foil his plans on surprising Mika.

Ren woke up an hour before, and it was a bit too early. He already finished washing himself up, and already got his Gekkoukan High uniform on.

"Um...rapey?" Morgana said. Ren shook his head. "Nope, I am not going to get anywhere near that zone. What kind of video have you been watching these days?" Ren said.

"Then...how about grapey?" Morgana said. Ren thought about it for a moment. "Hm...you just added a 'g' to that word but it completely changed its meaning...nice. Alright, let's do this." Ren said.

Ren put his head next Mika's ear and breathed in.

"Wakey, Wakey... Eggs and-"

"AHHHH! I LOVE THIS SUNSHINE!" Mika said as she stretched out energetically, and smashed Ren's face with her hands.

"...!" Ren put his hands over his face and shook his legs in pain.

"Oh. Didn't see you there." Mika said as she stared at Ren relieving the pain on his face.

"Oh, God... That hurt..." Ren said. Morgana sighed.

"Karma hits you when you don't know it, Ren..." Morgana said. Mika turned to face Morgana.

"Wow... So it is a talking cat after all..." Mika said in an interested tone.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Morgana said a bit aggressively.

Mika shook her head. "Nah, it just means I'll finally be able to say the word 'pussy' without people staring at me like a madwoman," Mika said.

Morgana sighed. "Both of them are just the same troublemakers..."

Then a knock on the door was heard. "Hey, its Yukari, can you open up?" Yukari said across the door.

Ren walked towards the door and opened it. "Sup." Yukari nodded.

"Morning. Are you ready to go?" Yukari said as he put her bag on her shoulders.

Ren looked over to Mika, who was struggling with her clothes. "...Can I ask you a favor?" Ren asked Yukari. Yukari tilted her head. "Sure."

"Can you help poor Mika over there with her clothes?" Ren said as he pointed towards Mika, who was practically half naked in front of Ren.

Mika noticed and opened her eyes wide. "AHHH! PERVERT!" Mika said as she covered her chest with her arms. Ren flinched and covered his eyes.

"h-Hey! You're the one that decided to change in front of me!" Ren exclaimed as his right hand covered his eyes.

Yukari sighed at the sight. "I'll just leave you guys be..." Yukari said as she closed the door.

"Hey, wait!" Ren tried to stop Yukari, but she disappeared in a flash.  
Ren and Mika still fought after Yukari left, and Ren just went out the door at this rate.

"Just change before we're late!" Ren said as he slammed the door. He also heard Mika still struggling with her skirt.

"God, she's not a little sister, but she's just a baby..." Ren said as he fixed his glasses. Morgana popped out of his bag and sighed.

"I guess its fate that you met her anyway. Plus, you technically slept with her, didn't you?" Morgana said.

"Please don't put it like we're in a relationship...I would have to be crazy for her to be my girlfriend." Ren said.

"Once again, fate. You never know." Morgana said as he plopped back into the bag. Ren rubbed his chin in thought.

"I mean...I don't know. I just met her, and my impression of her so far is just an annoying little sister." Ren said. Morgana didn't respond and seemed to be dozing off.

"Alrighty, let's go!" Mika said as she slammed the door open with a smile. Ren put his bag on his shoulders and nodded.

* * *

The duo got on the train. While Mika was listening to her music, Ren was standing still grabbing on to the handle.

Ren looked out the window, and he saw the school. It didn't look like a school until he heard someone murmur that its a school.

"Jesus...It looks like a resort..." Ren said to himself. Morgana once again plopped out of the bag and widened in surprise.

"Wow...I hope this school has larger desks then Shujin. So you know, I can have more space under the desks." Morgana said as he looked up in wonder. Ren smiled.

"Yeah, me too," Ren said as he stared at the school and the sun that was shining under it.

"I have a feeling, that this is going to be great," Ren said.

"What did you say?" Mika said as she plugged out her earphones. Ren looked down at her because she was sitting down.

"Nothing in particular. Hey, do you know your classroom assignments?" Ren asked.

"Nah. But I'm pretty sure we'll find out when we get there." Mika said as she crossed her legs, and the boys around her stared.

Ren noticed this and sat next to Mika. "What are you planning to do...?" Mika said in a worried tone.

"Nah, just a little revenge for yesterday," Ren said as he smirked and kissed Mika on the cheeks.

Mika reddened up and started murmuring inaudible words. The people around them, not only the boys but also the girls, started getting louder.

"HEY! Can't you kids keep quiet here?!" An adult voice said in the middle of the crowded train. Everyone went dead silent soon after but continued staring at Ren and Mika.

"y-You idiot! Everyone's looking at us!" Mika said as she cringed. Ren smiled.

"Well, that was supposed to happen," Ren said as he now grabbed Mika's hand and rubbed his face.

"...So that's the kind of fetish she has..."

"...Wow, what a nice boyfriend. Giving her pleasure in the middle of public space..."

"...Man, when will I get laid?!..."

Several voices echoed across the train, and it only made Mika more anxious.

"Well, I think that's enough for today-" Ren was cut off with Mika's hard slap in the face.

Mika looked at Ren, not an angry look, but a hesitant look, like as if she didn't know what to do.

Then coincidentally, the train arrived right at that moment. The students continued staring when they were leaving the train.

"...I-I'm going to go," Mika said as she also stood up and left, and sprinted out of the train.

Ren sat there for a bit, thinking about what he did wrong.

"...You clearly crossed the line a bit there." Morgana said. "How about you see her during lunch today, and make it up?"

"Yeah. I think that's my only choice here." Ren said as he stood up and left the train at the last second.

"But...fuck, nevermind. Let's go, Morgana." Ren said as he ran out of the entrance of the station.

* * *

Ren made his way to the faculty office because he couldn't find his way, and a lot of the students disappeared for some reason.

As he entered the faculty office, he saw no one else, except for a teacher that looked just like Yukari's adult self, and also wore all pink like her.

"Why's she walking towards me? Did I do something wrong? Is it...because of that train-" Ren's line of thought was once again cut off by the teacher.

"Oh, are you the new student?" She asked. "Yep," I replied calmly as possible.

"11th grade, correct?" She said. I nodded. "So you used to be in a small town...How's your city life so far?"

"Well, I just got slapped in the face by a girl I shared a room with from yesterday onwards. Does that sum it up?" Of course, Ren didn't say that. It was just his heart speaking out.

"It's been great. Cities are a bit too much of a hassle to navigate, though." Now that's why Ren ACTUALLY said.

The teacher giggled. "You'll get used to it eventually. Now, let's see..." She said as she flipped the pages on her stash of paper. "Ren Amamiya...and you're in my class! What a coincidence!" She said enthusiastically.

"I teach composition, and also a homeroom teacher for 2-F." She said.

"Ren Amamiya. As you just said a second ago." I said as I held out my hand. She smiled and shook it. "You seem to be quite the joking type. It's nice to see such positivity coming from a student." said as she continued her smile.

"Oh, and there's going to be a Welcoming Ceremony in the auditorium. You should go before it's too late." She said as she left the room.

"Great, a boring assembly on the first day of school. Can't today get any worse?" Ren said in the middle of the empty faculty office.

"I don't think so. Well, you gotta go now, don't you? You don't want to be late right?" Morgana said. Ren groaned.

"I know, I know...Let's go then." Ren said as he sprinted to the assembly hall.

* * *

As Ren found his way in, he took a seat that was the last empty one.

But unfortunately and fortunately, it was next to Mika.

"You're supposed to seat with your class assignment!" Mika whispered.

"I know. This is my class. 2-F." Ren shrugged. Mika sighed and put her head in front.

"Hey look...I'm sorry about this morning. I should've been more careful." Ren said.

Mika didn't respond and continued looking in front.

"Dude, what should I do? She's not answering!" Ren said as he looked away from Mika and talked to Morgana, who was still inside his bag.

"I dunno, keep trying to talk to her! You'll get somewhere at least!" Morgana said. Ren nodded. "Got it".

"You talking to your monster cat again?" Mika said. Ren shook his head.

"No, no. In fact, I wanted to talk to you." Ren said. Mika looked away.

"Mika, please...I don't want to make things awkward between us, and we have to...um, be in the same room too, so I wanted to make things clear."

Ren explained. Mika still didn't look.

"Maybe I should...oh. Why didn't I think of this?" Ren thought to himself and smiled.

"Hey, Mikaaaa..." Ren said affectionately. "w-What's with the tone?!" Mika said, clearly creeped out.

"How about...we talk about this with a hot bowl of ramen?" Ren said as he picked up a few 10,000 Yen notes on his hand. He clearly knew this was only a fluke shot, so there was almost no way she would-

"WHAT?!" Mika yelped in surprise and happiness, as positivity beamed from her eyes. "OH MY GOD, YES..."

The principal stopped speaking. "WHO WAS THAT?!"

The two sat back as if nothing happened, and the principal grumbled. "Kids these days...Anyway, as I was saying..."

Ren wiped the sweat from his forehead, and Mika was giggling.

"What? What's so funny?" Ren asked. Mika continued giggling and finally spoke out.

"Eheheheh...I was waiting for you to offer me something..." Mika said. Ren slowly puts down his 10,000 Yen notes towards his pockets.

Mika grabbed Ren's wrists and prevented him from hiding the cash. "Hey, hey. Come on. No backing out of this one. You know those kisses and hand-grabbing weren't cheap." Mika said.

"I can't believe I fell for your trick..." Ren said as he looked down utterly depressed and defeated. Mika snickered.

"Well, that's what you get for touching a girl without consent." Mika said with her tongue out.

"My...allowances..." Ren said as he stared at the ceiling of the assembly hall in sadness. Mika stole a glance and smiled.

"With him, I think it's going to be a good year. For once." Mika thought to herself, as the principal finally finished.

* * *

As that boring speech by the principal finished, Ren and Mika were both yawning on their way to the classroom.

"Do you remember a single thing that the principal said?" Ren asked Mika.

"Huh? That was the principal?" Mika said as she finished stretching.

"Nevermind..." Ren said as he sighed. They continued walking along the hallways, climbed the stairs until they finally found their classroom.

"2-F...Hey, I bet that last letter represents your average grade at the end of the year." Ren laughed. Mika gritted her teeth.

"We'll see about that, glasses-face..." Mika said. "Oh, you wanna go mustard-hair?" Ren said.

"You touch me anywhere, then no ramen for you," Ren said. Mika held her hands back. "w-Woah, hey, I meant no harm, only a joke, you understand, right?" Mika retaliated.

"Well, fine. I'll let it go only this time." Ren said. Mika showed a wide smile.

"...If you buy me lunch."

Mika frowned, then nodded. "Fine...I'm pretty sure the lunch here is cheaper than a bowl of ramen."

"Oh my, you are SO wrong in every way... you'll see later on." Ren thought to himself as he smiled when Mika wasn't looking.

"Well, where's your seat?" Ren said as he found his. Mika looked at the blackboard and saw her name next to Ren.

"I'm sitting next to you. You should feel lucky such as girl is seating next to you..." Mika said as she winked. Ren stared in disgust.

But the other guys were looking pretty jealous. "Wow, that frizzy hair's pretty lucky to be with such a hot girl..." One of the guys said. Mika snickered.

"See? All the boys want me, and all the girls-"

"WAHHHH! REN-KUN! HE LOOKED AT ME!" A bunch of girls at the corner of the classroom screamed. Ren flinched in shock.

"w-Well, as you see, I do have my share of fans. See, I'm not that far off. You should be lucky that you're sitting next to me." Ren said as he crossed his arms over his overwhelming ego.

"Grr..." Mika said as she cracked her knuckles. Ren snickered. "A single punch on my face and no ramen for you." Ren said as he put up one finger.

"God, that ramen is working against my will now ain't it..." Mika said. Ren nodded, and the teacher came in.

"Alright class, I'm Ms. Toriumi, and I'm your composition and homeroom teacher." said. "And we have two new students today. Can Ren and Mika come up please?"

The duo went up together and stood next to each other.

"Can you each introduce yourself?" said.

"Hi, I'm Ren Amamiya, and this is mustard-hair over here is Mika Seno. She might look pretty, but she's a loud mouth on the inside." Ren said. Mika pinched him from the back.

"Ow!" Ren said. Mika then turned to the classmates. "Alright, my turn. As Mr. Glasses-face said, my name is Mika Seno." The boys woo-ed in response. Mika flicked her hair and smiled. Ren cringed.

"Well...I guess that's it for the introduction?" said as she sighed. They both nodded.

"Alright, then back to your seats." Ms. Toriumi said. The duo glared at each other and went back to their seats.

The students murmured.

"Wow, they seem like pretty close friends..."

"I'm pretty jealous..."

"Dude, didn't they like, grab hands this morning?"

It continued until Ms. Toriumi told them to be quiet. The class opened their books, and Ren felt a tap behind him.

"Dude, are you close to that girl?" The voice asked behind him. Ren looked back, and it was a boy with a cap on.

"Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya." Junpei said with his hands out. Ren shook it and opened his mouth.

"Trust me, she's NOT the kind of person you think she is. Try being in the same room with her for over an hour, and you'll see what I'm talking about."

Ren said as he looked around to see if Ms. Toriumi is looking or not.

"Huh...sounds a bit like someone else I know..." Junpei said as he stared at the pink-cardigan brunette, who was also talking to Mika.

Ren stared at both of them, worried what kind of dumb thing Mika would say.

"Hey, hey. I'm pretty sure Mika ain't that bad. But that girl, on the other hand, is the real deal." Junpei said as he pointed at Yukari, but not to a  
the point where Ms. Toriumi could see it.

Ren was relatively surprised that she still didn't catch Ren and Junpei talking.

But again, Mika and Yukari were also talking, so it Ren believed Ms. Toriumi just didn't care at all.

"Now, please turn your page to the Chapter 1.2..." Ms. Toriumi said, facing the blackboard. Ren turned back and flipped the pages.

But Junpei tapped Ren on the shoulder and asked him for his name.

"Ren. Ren Amamiya. Let's talk later, shall we?" Ren said as he smiled, and Junpei smiled back.

"Right." Junpei said as he got to his textbook.

Mika and Yukari also faced the front and stopped talking, while Mika stole a glance at Ren.

* * *

It was lunch-time now, and everyone ran out of the door when dismissed them.

"HEY! NO RUNNING!" said as the students stampeded out of the door. But of course, no one listened.

"Go eat your own fart, Ekoda!" One voice screamed in the middle of the running crowd.

"WHO WAS THAT?!" Ekoda screamed in the hallway. But in no time, everyone was running down the stairs, and Ekoda was alone in the hallway, standing defeated.

"God, kids these days don't know anything about traditional Japanese manners..." Ekoda said as he turned around and walked down the hallway to the faculty office.

Ren and Mika were down at the canteen, and Mika checked the price tag right away.

"WHAT? How is a bowl of spaghetti 2000 yen?!" Mika said as she grabbed her head in panic.

Ren laughed. "Well? Why don't you get me that while we're at it?" Ren said as he continued smiling. Mika groaned.

"...Fine. Since I am a prominent woman, I'll buy it for you. But only this time!" Mika said as she put out a bunch of 1000 yen notes.

"This spaghetti better be worth its cash..." Mika said as he paid the money to the cashier.

"God, I've been craving some pasta for a while..." Ren said as he rubbed his hands in excitement.

"That bowl of ramen you buy better be worth its price..." Mika said as she rubbed her chin.

Mika and Ren tried to find a bench nearby, but all of them were taken. Ren tried to look for Junpei, Mika tried to look for Yukari, but neither could find them because of the density of the canteen.

Ren looked around again and sighed. "No seats. Where do we go?" Ren said. Mika turned around and thought about it.

"...How about the rooftop?" Mika said. Ren thought about it and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think that would be quieter and less disturbing than this place," Mika said as she found at least 3 people falling over with a plate full of food.

"Yeah...I think that's a good idea. Let's go before someone takes the rooftop also." Ren said as he picked up his pasta. Mika took her sandwich and they walked out of the door.

And like always, the people around were murmuring some rumors about them going out.

They ignored it, and it seemed like they would need to do it pretty often now.

* * *

"Ahh! Fresh air!" Mika said as she stretched her arms out, with her sandwich still in her hand. Ren got a deja vu for some reason.

"Come on, let's eat before the bell rings." Mika said as she plopped onto the nearby bench. Ren sat next to her.

Ren was about to dive into his pasta until he noticed the bright blue sky.

"Wow...the weather here is sure amazing..." Ren said as he looked up. "I just want to lie down on this rooftop and stare at the sky the entire day..." Ren said, as he soon after dove into his pasta after saying it.

Mika stared at Ren in amazement and took a bite of her sandwich. "Maybe we could come here for a bit next time? Like, when its bright in the afternoon?" Mika said as she looked at Ren straight in the eye.

"Hm...That might be the most logical thing you said in a while..." Ren said as he rubbed his chin. Mika grumbled in displeasure.

"You really do know how to make a girl unhappy..." Mika said as she took another angry bite of her sandwich. Ren laughed.

"Well, then I've accomplished my job then." Ren said as he titled his glasses and ate away. Mika gave a dissatisfied "hmmph" and bit on her sandwich.

The two continued eating and arguing until the bell rang.

* * *

It was late in the evening now, and a few hours before the Dark Hour. Mitsuru was sitting on the end of the 3-person sofa and was reading a book, with the lamps on next to her on both sides. A grey-haired boy walked up to her with a jacket on his arms.

"I'm going out for a bit." The grey-haired boy said. "Hm?" Mitsuru said in a bit of a surprise. "Didn't you see the newspaper? There's a lot going on these days..." The grey-haired boy said as he sighed lightly. Mitsuru sighed back. "I know...people who didn't have problems before are suddenly showing cases of Apathy Syndrome... I've seen it quite often in the news lately also. They say it's because of stress, but..."

"Yeah, it's got to be them. Otherwise, it's not worth my time." The grey-haired boy said. "Alright, but be careful out there. You have a one-track mind, so your impulsiveness can get you hurt." Mitsuru said as she closed the book. "Yeah, I'm just getting a bit of practice." The grey-haired boy said as he walked out of the door.

"This isn't a game, Akihiko..."

* * *

Ren and Mika opened the dorm door in exhaustion. Ren was grabbing his stomach in pain, and Mika was doing something similar.

"That...was too spicy," Ren said as he put his hands over his mouth to prevent fluid from coming out. Mika didn't respond and walked, but was interrupted by Yukari and another other brown haired person sitting on the sofas.

"Oh, he's back," Yukari said. "So, this is our new guest..." The brown-haired man said. He also wore glasses. They both stood up as I closed the door behind me, and they both neared me. "Good evening." The brown-haired man said.

"Um...sorry, we're not in the greatest of state to discuss stuff right now..." Mika said. Ren nodded also, still putting his hand over his mouth.

"I completely understand. How about we talk tomorrow evening?" The brown-haired man said. The duo nodded, and weakly went up the stairs, while the man and Yukari heard a bunch of weak-voiced arguments.

"...Those two are pretty lively even in that state, aren't they?" The man asked Yukari.

"Yeah, I have a feeling it might be more than that," Yukari said. The man laughed. "Perhaps we'll finally have a couple in SEES then?"

"...They're more like brother and sister thing, but I don't think its impossible. I'm going to the control room then." Yukari said. The man nodded.

"Of course. I believe Mitsuru is already there."

* * *

As the two weakened students went back to their room, they constantly fought to see who would go to the bathroom first.

"I bought the ramen, so I should go first!" Ren said as he pushed Mika away with his hips.

Mika gritted her teeth and pushed Ren to the floor. "I have the high ground!" Ren looked confused at the meaning of that phrase, but he stood back up and pushed her back.

But as time passed, the state of both was getting worse. One of them had to go at least.

"...Just go first, I'll find another way." Ren said as he patted Mika on the back. Mika looked back at him in disbelief.

"w-Wait, what are you going to do?!" Mika said. Ren opened the window of the door, and Mika kind of knew what he was going to do.

"No, you can't do that." Mika said. Ren nodded. "Yes, I can do that. You should do yours quickly too." Ren said as he jumped out.

Mika sighed and entered the bathroom.

* * *

Yukari, Mitsuru, and the brown-haired guy were looking in disbelief.

"..." The control room was silent, as they witnessed possibly the most unbelievable thing in the dorm just now.

"They were arguing over...what again?" Yukari asked. Mitsuru shook her head. "I'd rather not know..."

"w-Well, were we able to make measurements?" The brown-haired man asked. Yukari and Mitsuru shook her head.

"No. They were moving around too much, and they're not even in the observation range right now." Yukari said. Mitsuru sighed.

"I guess we'll have to stay overnight then." Mitsuru said. Yukari sighed back. "Do we really have to-"

Then a one of the person's phone rang, and it was Mitsuru's. She flipped it open and pressed call.

"t-This one is huge!" A voice said through the phone. Yukari stood up in recognition of that voice.

"Akihiko! Where are you?" Mitsuru asked. She could hear Akihiko's huffing and the shadow's roar from the phone.

"I'm coming back to the dorm!" Akihiko said. Mitsuru was about to respond, but the phone cut off.

Mitsuru closed the phone and looked at the two people in front of her.

"We're going to need to barricade the dorm immediately when Akihiko comes back. Be ready." Mitsuru told Yukari. Yukari nodded and went down.

"Oh, and grab Ren and Mika and tell them to evacuate. Help them if you need to." Mitsuru said as she ran down the stairs with a silver pistol.

* * *

Ren and Mika were both passed out on the bed, and almost asleep. Ren was looking like he was knocked out by a wrestling champ, and Mika was just looking like she fainted in the middle of the street in broad daylight.

But this was all interrupted when they heard a banging on the door. "Ren! Go get it!" Mika said as she continued to hold her position.

Ren tiredly stood up and limped towards the door. Ren opened it, and it was Yukari, who looked as urgent as ever.

"You two we're gonna need to evacuate." Yukari said.

"You heard the woman. Let's get up, Mika." Ren said as he neared her and slapped her face lightly. Mika's eyes opened wide, and she growled initially but followed Yukari and Ren.

"Alright. Let's go!" Yukari said in a hurry. Then a huge thump was heard on the floor above them.

"Hurry! Downstairs! We'll leave through the back door!" Yukari said.

Ren was about to head out, then Yukari stopped him by grabbing his arm. "Wait! Take this just in case." She said as she handed a short sword.

Ren examined it but was soon interrupted by Yukari's urgency. "Okay, let's go!"

"Wait, I do have THAT in my pockets right now, don't I? Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to have one more weapon." Ren thought to himself as he was following Yukari.

They headed downstairs and towards the back door. But then she picked up a call from Mitsuru. She was warned that there were more than one shadows in the building.

But like a play on fate, a loud bang was heard on the door we tried to leave through just now. "We've got to pull back, now!" Yukari said as the trio dragged themselves towards the roof.

As they arrived at the roof, Yukari closed the door and locked it. She sighed. "I think we're okay... for now at least..." She said as she started huffing again.

Then a loud thump was heard again. We both look towards the door and knew it wasn't at the door. Then they looked back, and a loud thump was heard again.

"Crap..." Yukari said. As the thumping got louder, the shadow showed itself under the green moonlight.

Yukari gasped in surprise, and shadow took out its multiple arms that each wielded a sword, and drew closer to both of us.

Yukari grabbed her pistol and put it to her head again. "Woah, Woah! No need to kill yourself yet!" Ren said. "Mika! Hold her down for a bit! I'll take care of this..."

"g-Got it!" Mika said as she grabbed Yukari by both her arms. "h-Hey! What are you-"

"Sorry Yukari, but it seems like we can't let you die like this." Mika said.

"Hey, this isn't-" She slammed her straight hands into Yukari's neck, and she was knocked out. Before she crashed to the floor, Mika got her around her waist.

She gently put her on the floor and realized her silver pistol was lying on the floor. Mika gulped and grabbed it just in case.

But then, a strange force in her head was telling her to do something...

Meanwhile, Ren was transforming into his Phantom Thief outfit. But other then that, he realized something was off.

"Wait, Mika! Have you seen-" Ren was cut off by the cat-shaped silhouette next to him under the green moonlight.

"Looking for me?" Morgana said. Ren smiled wide, and Morgana hopped next to him. "Alright, time for your comeback!" Morgana said as he summoned Zorro.

"Alright! The tag team is back again!" Ren said as he prepared his mask.

"Zorro! Slash!" Morgana's persona then slashed the shadow, which the shadow cried in pain. Ren smiled and took out his pistol.

"Let's see if it works here too..." Ren said as he slowly pulled the trigger. He pulled it tightly, but nothing came out. Only a few clicks.

"...Crap. I guess the Cognition trick doesn't work th-" Ren's words got cut off when the shadow slammed him towards the wall meters behind him, while he was completely wide open to enemy's attack. Morgana flinched in shock.

"REN!" Morgana screamed. Ren stood back up, but was unable to fight, due to his arms. "Don't worry about me! Just fight!" Ren said as he got closer to Mika. Morgana nodded.

"Alright. Zorro! Magarudyne!" Morgana said towards the shadow. It gave him heavy damage, but it was still standing tall and brave.

"God...I'm sorry Ren..." Morgana said. Ren shook his head. "No. Your priority right now is to defeat that thing and protect her." Ren said as he pointed towards Mika.

"...Mika?" Ren said as she stared at her. Even with the shadow lurking behind them, they couldn't resist but look at what she was doing.  
Mika was shaking in fear and was reminded of her childhood.

"No...not like this...I can't lose them again..." Mika said. Then her hands unconsciously got to the silver pistol, and then to her head. Her fingers were trembling, and she slowly pulled the trigger of the gun.

"MIKA! NO!" Ren tried to run towards her, but then tripped and fell straight on his chest. "MORGANA! STOP HER!" Ren screamed.

Morgana tried to, but then he narrowly dodged the shadow's attack while doing so.

He now had a decision. Go and save Mika and leave Ren for the dead to the shadow, or save Ren and let Mika shoot herself in the head.

"...Mika, I'm sorry..." Morgana said. "WHAT?! NO! MORGANA, SAVE HER INSTEAD!" Ren screamed at top of his lungs.

"Zorro! Magarula!" A heavy wind attack was facing the shadow, and Morgana completely ignored everything Ren just said.

Ren was looking down at the floor, thinking of how helpless he is right now.

But then, he heard Mika's voice, and he looked at her, while Morgana was still fighting the shadow.

"Per..." Mika mumbled and cringed. Ren crawled towards her with all might.

"...so..." Mika was now beginning to stop shaking and was calming down more. Ren fell to the floor, and his arms were stretched out to Mika.

"...na." She finally pulled the trigger, and the huge blue flame surrounded her. Ren was screamed in denial, but then her persona appeared before her, while Ren weakly watched from the floor.

"She...was a persona user...?" Morgana said, while his persona still fought.

Ren stared in disbelief and watched the blue flames disappear, and soon her persona appeared out of those flames.

Mika then pointed towards the shadow strongly with energy and grinned.

"You're going down in my list today for hurting Ren, bitch! Now come at me!" Mika said.

"Thanatos! Brave Blade that piece of shit!"

* * *

Welp, that's Chapter 2. The reason why Ren and Mika prevented Yukari from using her Evoker is that they still didn't know it's not a real gun and that it's used to summon a persona. Mika realizes later because of her instincts telling her, but Ren still tries to prevent it because he still doesn't know that its used for summoning personas.

Anyways, on to the reviews.

Guest:This Is a big improvement To the original First Chapter

A: I'm glad you noticed. One of the main goals of this revamp was to improve upon the previous.

smack77721:who is the good Samaritan in giving headache and stress pills to Ren will need it xD "always and wanted a sequel" that phrase boosted my mood :) and start a new story I wish you the best and luck I am anxious for the chapter 2

A: Always nice seeing you, dude. Yeah, maybe Ren might need some pills to relieve the headache that Mika gives him. That phrase was kinda thought of straight from my head, but I guess if it made you happy, then I'm happy too.

Zuskato Zyus:Alright, First: Lavenza calls Ren(Akira) "Trickster" not Joker. Second: I spotted some grammar mistakes, so there's that. Third: I'll be following this from now on :)

A: Thanks for the critism. I really need it, because I want to improve as much as possible. Fixed the Trickster thing, the grammar, I tried my best for this chapter, and thanks for following it :D

That's it for today, and make sure to follow and favorite if you liked it, and also leave a review if you feel something about it.

This is Edward, and peace out.


	3. Re:covery

Ren was still on the floor, but he didn't really worry anymore because Mika was basically slaughtering the shadow at that point. Even Ren felt sorry for the shadow, for some reason.

"h-Hey! Don't go too far with your abilities! You might drain your SP-" Morgana was completely ignored, and Mika continued spamming Brave Sword at the shadow.

"Shut up, you stupid cat! I've got a shadow to deal with..." Mika said as she shot her Evoker again. Morgana sighed.

"Alright then, you can beat- I mean, 'massacre' that shadow, and I'll look after Ren," Morgana said as he held back. Mika nodded as her persona continued attacking the helpless shadow. "You got it, cat."

Morgana then quickly ran over to Ren and checked him. Ren was still alive and breathing, but his lower half was heavily damaged, and he was fatigued.

"Ren..." Morgana said in guilt. If he only had been less careless, Ren wouldn't have been injured like this. Ren grabbed Morgana's cheeks and stretched it.

"Hey...come on, what's with that straight face? Replace that with a smile. You know I hate seeing people sad." Ren said as he continued stretching Morgana's cheeks while still on the floor.

"Wah...Wah ure yu duin?" Morgana said as his mouth was being stretched also. Ren laughed again, and the duo heard the scream of the shadow.

"Fuck yeah!" Mika said as she raised her fists into the green moonlight. She looked as tired as ever, but she seemed happy for some reason. The shadow was melting away into the dark sky, and Mika was huffing like she just ran an entire mile herself.

Morgana helped Ren towards Mika. Mika snickered. "Seems like your toy-gun didn't really do you good there, didn't it?" Mika said as she holstered the Evoker into her skirt pockets. Ren also snickered and nodded.

"Yeah...Nevermind that. I never thought I'd be saying this ever, but you just saved my life." Ren said. Mika shuddered and reddened. "y-Yeah, of course, I did. What makes you think I wouldn't?" Mika said.

Ren shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe its because you like me or something?" Ren joked. Mika looked deep in thought. "Hm...Are you hitting on a girl you just met for a few days?

Ren flinched. "n-No! Why would I hit on a mayonnaise hair like you?!" Mika laughed. "Mayonnaise hair... I like that. At least it sounds more positive then frizzly hair." Mika said as she giggled. Ren sighed and touched his hair.

 _"Maybe I should save up and get a haircut..."_ Ren thought to himself as he continued rubbing his hair. Mika noticed and grabbed his entire head and began smothering her hands all over Ren's hair.

"Wow...its surprisingly soft..." Mika said with her eyes widened. _"She killed her first shadow today and this is how she rewards herself, huh..."_ Ren thought to himself as he sighed.

Mika continued rustling Ren's hair until Mika heard footsteps coming from the door of the rooftop.

As they heard the footstep, Mika immediately let go of Ren and got into her fighting stance. "Who's there?!" Mika shouted. The footsteps got closer, and it was the brown-haired glasses guy, Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Yukari.

"Woah there, were not a shadow." The brown-haired guy said. Mika holstered her Evoker and sighed. "What do you want... I'm tired. Can't we just talk about this tomorrow?" Mika said as she put both her arms on her sides.

Mitsuru thought about that and nodded. "It was your first time summoning a persona, so it'd be normal for you to be tired. In fact, you didn't even faint after summoning a persona with that much power. It's very surprising." Mitsuru said. Mika widened her eyes.

"Faint, huh...Sounds like a pussy thing to do." Mika said as she snickered. Mika then got down to Ren and helped him up. "Well, I think this guy needs some treatment. Broken knees and elbows. Can't even move an inch." Mika said as examined Ren.

"Yeah...Sorry about that. I should've been more careful, shouldn't I?" Ren said. Mika nodded. "Yeah. Cause bringing a toy gun to a fight with a 5-meter tall enemy isn't really going to bring you anywhere BUT a broken bone." Mika joked. Ren nodded in agreement and defeat.

"Well, we'll get you to a hospital right now. How about it, Akihiko?" The brown-haired guy said. Akihiko nodded. "Can I borrow your car, Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked Mitsuru cautiously. Mitsuru looked at him coldly. "...Only if you return it without blowing it up this time." Ren and Mika both flinched at that statement. "Blow it up...? What did he even do?" Ren whispered to Mika. Mika shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe he used it for his mad boxing training and somehow blew the fuse?" Mika whispered back.

Akihiko noticed their whispers. "h-Hey! It's not like that!" Both of them flinched again. Akihiko scratched his hair and grabbed the car keys that Mitsuru threw at them just now. "Come on, let's go before the hospital begins to make excuses for not taking in patients at midnight again..." Akihiko said, and somehow that sounded like a second-hand experience.

"I'll follow you. I don't know why, but I feel the urge to follow you. Don't get weird thoughts though." Mika said. After she said that, the Dark Hour ended, and the surroundings all came back to normal, and the moon went back to its original color.

Mika then remembered something, and before she grabbed it, it jumped on her head. Morgana sat on her head like a stool, and Mika growled. "I swear...this is the only time I'll allow this..." Mika said as the others watched.

"...Hey, where did you find that cat?" Yukari asked as the group walked down the stairs. Ren was being supported by Akihiko, and they were having a little chit-chat at the same time also.

Mika looked up at Morgana, and Morgana was scratching his head with his legs. "Ren's cat. He brought it with him on the way to Iwatodai." Mika said. "And I'll probably have to take care of it while Ren's gone."

"I see...Hey there kitty..." Yukari said as she rubbed Morgana's head. Morgana purred in pleasure. "Meowww..."

Yukari giggled. "Quite a cute cat also. Is it a male?" Yukari said. Mika didn't know and gave a wild guess. "...Female." Morgana scratched Mika's head repeatedly in annoyance at the answer she gave.

"g-Geez! Alright! Male! Male!" Mika said urgently. Yukari then reached her hand out to Morgana. Morgana then stuck out his tongue at Mika and jumped into Yukari's hands.

"Awww...so cute!" Yukari said as she rubbed Morgana's head. Mika sighed. "Yeah...just live with it for at least more than 48 hours and you'll see why I hate that cat..." Mika said as she glared at Morgana.

The group continued down until they reached the second floor. Mitsuru and the brown-haired guy said they're going back to bed, while Ren, Morgana, and Yukari, Mika followed Akihiko.

"Wait, why are you following?" Mika asked Yukari as she turned around in front of the dorm entrance. Yukari shrugged. "I dunno. It's not like I have anything better to do anyway." Yukari said as she continued petting Morgana non-stop. Morgana was at his peak of nirvana right now.

Ren was helped up by Akihiko and was put next to the driver's seat. Yukari, Mika, and Morgana sat at the back. Akihiko then got into the driver's seat and put the car keys in.

"Well...hold on tight. Cause this might get a bit shaky." Akihiko said as he stepped on the gas a bit too hard, forcing the others in the car to immediately shift backward.

Akihiko continued driving until the group finally got into the hospital. They all jumped out of the car as fast as possible, hoping they can live for another day.

"Man...I don't know what's more dangerous...The shadows or Akihiko-senpai's driving..." Mika said as she wiped her sweat. Yukari sighed in hopefulness.

"Yeah...It's a good thing we don't have to go to the ER with Ren also..." Yukari said. Ren was now being supported by Mika, and Morgana was still bound to Yukari's arms for the whole time, even during Akihiko's joyride.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? We got a man's legs and arms to heal!" Mika said as she patted Ren on the back, and Ren groaned a little. "Oh, you alright? Did I hit too hard?" Mika said worryingly.

"...Nah, just testing your level of trust. I never thought you'd care this much to be honest." Ren said as he chuckled. Mika frowned and nudged his elbows slightly, and Ren wailed in pain. "OW!"

"That's what you get, smartass," Mika said. "Come on, the doctors aren't going to wait all day. Hey Yukari, can you take care of Morgana?" Mika asked. Yukari nodded. "Yep. Sure thing. Let's go get some food, shall we?" Yukari said as she rubbed Morgana's chest.

"Yay!" Morgana said. Yukari's expression was bounded when she heard the cat talk. Mika grinned. "Good luck..." Ren and Mika both walked away, and Yukari looked hesitant to do anything. "Let's get sushi!" Morgana said cheerfully. Yukari nodded in an unsure expression. "s-Sure." The group each went their way.

* * *

"So how does it look doc?" Mika asked as she sat on one of the stools and leaned back. Ren was also sitting on a stool, but it was next to the doctor. The doctor examined his elbows and knees, as he pressed on it, and the majority of the times Ren would show a bit or a great amount of pain.

"...It could've been worse. But I think he's fine considering how much worse it could've been." Doctor explained. Ren looked curiously at the doctor. "I don't really understand..."

The doctor smiled. "Well, I feel like I don't either. Somehow your bones are broken, but it seems like it was in a process of healing soon after it was broken." The doctor said as he titled his glasses in interest. "Say, have you experienced anything...out of the usual lately?" The doctor said as he stared into Ren's eyes.

Obviously, Ren can't just blurt out that he uses a persona, and had a magical talking cat heal his elbows and knees partially. So he bluffed. "Nah, I think its that I'm a bit lucky," Ren said as he scratched his head, to make himself look clumsy. The doctor laughed. "Whatever you say. Anway, I'll get you some leg and arm braces, and you'll be just fine in about a few weeks. But until then, refrain from any activities that heavily rely on your arms and legs movement, and get some rest when you can." The doctor said as he wrote down the above statement in a clipboard, then gave it to the nearby nurse.

"Follow me please." The nurse said as they were preparing to get his leg and arm braces. Mika followed.

"Oh. Are you his relative? You had quite a mouth back there in the hallway." The nurse snickered as she noticed Mika following. Mika shuddered. "r-Relative?! No, I'm not his big sister..." Mika said. The nurse put her fingers on her chin in thought.

"Hm...then are you...His girlfriend?" The nurse asked. This time, Ren answered. "No. It would be like treating a little sister then a girlfriend if she was one." Ren said as he sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"I swear... if you weren't hurt right now I'd be turning you into my punching bag..." Mika said as she glared at Ren. Ren snickered. "Well tough luck," Ren said as the nurse was now wrapping his knees with the brace.

Until the procedure finished, the nurse was surrounded by Ren and Mika's argument for the whole time.

"Looks like its just another day for this poor nurse..." The nurse said as she sighed, as Ren and Mika's shouting blared across the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yukari sat with Morgana in a nearby sushi restaurant that was in front of the hospital. She was trying to look as normal as possible because she didn't want people to think she was talking to a cat in a public restaurant.

"So...you're a cat...that can talk?" Yukari asked, amused. Morgana scratched his head with his legs. "A talking cat WITH a persona, if you might ask," Morgana said with a great amount of ego behind those statements.

"A talking cat with a persona...I must've been up too much lately..." Yukari said as she clenched her head. Morgana shook his head. "This is real life, and that cat is about to eat some of your salmon sushi," Morgana said as he tried to reach for the sushi in front of Yukari, but his short legs couldn't reach it.

Yukari giggled at Morgana's struggle. "The way you shake your legs is so cute~" Yukari said. Morgana blushed a little, but Yukari couldn't notice because cats can't physically blush.

"w-Well, if I'm cute, feed me that salmon sushi, right now please!" Morgana said with his mouth wide open, revealing his fangs. Yukari looked deep in thought, and opened the wasabi container, and poured as much wasabi as she could inside the sushi.

"Bon appetit!" Yukari said as she grabbed the sushi and directed it into Morgana's mouth. Yukari tried her best to hold in her laugh.

The salmon sushi went into Morgana's mouth, and Morgana chewed away. Yukari turned back to wait for Morgana's painful wail.

"Mmmf...!" Morgana said. "...He's even cuter when he's like this!" Yukari said to herself, surprised.

"...IT'S DELICIOUS!" Morgana said. "ANOTHER ONE PLEASE!" Morgana said as he flailed his arms in happiness. Yukari turned around and immediately looked in disbelief. "w-Wait, I'm pretty sure I put at least a pound of wasabi in there-"

"I love wasabi! Its spicy with a different take!" Morgana said as he sat back. Yukari stared at Morgana in deep interest.

"Well? Another one!" Morgana said. Yukari hesitated and grabbed another tuna sushi this time, and plopped it into Morgana's mouth. Morgana chewed away in happiness.

Yukari could only smile at his cuteness. _"This cat...he's different."_ Yukari thought to herself, as she looked at Morgana eating away. _"...A cat with a persona...and Ren, who brought this cat...something isn't right..."  
_  
"Hey!" Morgana said. Yukari looked at Morgana. "What's up?" As Yukari looked at Morgana, she noticed that all the sushi on the plate disappeared.

"Thank you!" Morgana said, with a purr. Yukari smiled and patted him. "Your welcome."

"That'll be 3000 yen." The cashier said in front of them. Yukari flinched in surprise. Morgana hid under the chair.

* * *

After all the shenanigans, everyone went back home.

Akihiko actually brought the car back in one piece, which Mitsuru was genuinely surprised. She even said she would let him drive again if he wanted to. But somehow Mitsuru felt a bit of regret in those words soon after.

Yukari came back with Morgana, and Morgana was sleeping on her shoulders the whole time, and Yukari was mourning over the money she spent, and Morgana was silent for the whole time until he jumped back to Ren.

Ren and Mika, on the other hand, were arguing over whether Strawberry ice cream is better or Chocolate ice cream.

"Why would you want to eat a fruit flavored ice cream? Just eat the fruit itself!" Ren said as he made hand gestures with the arm that didn't have a brace.

Mika shook her head. "If everything in life is only one way like that, then why don't you just eat the chocolate too, not the ice cream version of it?" Mika said. Ren hesitated and noticed the shallowness of his statement just now.

"After 20 minutes of debate...this is how I lose..." Ren said. Mika sneered. "Yep. And you'll always be like this." Mika said as she flicked her beige-colored hair egotistically.

"I'm going up to shower. You're going to join?" Mika joked. Ren flinched. "As if I would want to!" Ren shouted. Mika laughed. "That's the spirit." Mika then proceeded upstairs, and Ren sat down on the couch in defeat.

"I swear...I will make you join the clan of Chocolate ice cream someday..." Ren said as he clenched one of his hands into a fist. Akihiko sighed. "...Is that really all you guys talked about?"

"Yeah." Ren simply answered. Akihiko sighed again. "I'm going to take a morning nap. Wake me up when you two stop talking about ice cream flavors." Akihiko said as he climbed the stairs.

Ren was now with Morgana, alone in the living room. The two sat in silence until Ren stood up with his crutches.

"I'm going for a walk. You're going to follow?" Ren said. Morgana nodded. "Sure. I need to walk for a bit after all those sushi." Morgana said as he smiled. Ren sighed.

 _"Should've told Yukari not to buy him sushi...or else she's going to lose her month worth of pocket money..."_ Ren thought to himself. "Oh well. Let's go then." Ren said as he limped on his crutches.

Ren opened the door with one hand, and got out of the dorm door, and faced the bright sun. "Ah...I love sunlight." Ren said as Morgana stretched his body next to him.

"Alright, where should we go?" Ren said. Morgana looked up in deep thought. "Hm...I heard there's a shrine nearby. Why don't we check it out?" Morgana said. "Great idea. Let's go." Ren said as he got back on walking on his crutches.

They walked along the sidewalk and turned a corner. Before Morgana reached the end of the corner, Ren pulled him back.

"h-Hey? What's this all about?" Morgana said. Ren put a finger over his mouth to shush him. "Look," Ren said as he pointed towards the edge of the corner. Morgana and Ren peeked over. They both saw a teal-haired girl and a girl with a dark skin who had a long dark orange hair with a short ponytail.

The orange haired girl then pushed the teal-haired girl to the floor, and her bag spilled out all of its contents. "You really are fun to mess around with." The orange haired girl said as she neared the teal-haired girl on the floor.

She then grabbed the teal-haired girl by the collar and smiled. "Next Monday. At the gym. Be there or be square. GOT IT?" The orange haired girl said. The teal-haired girl nodded aggressively.

"Good...Now be a good girl and leave." The orange haired girl said as she threw the teal-haired girl to the floor and spat on her face.

Ren wasn't mad, he was infuriated at this point. But his injuries prevented him from doing extensive physical activity, so had no choice but watch that girl suffer.

But as soon as the orange-haired girl disappeared, Morgana and Ren ran towards the teal-haired girl.

"n-NO! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" The girl said as she covered herself with both her arms. Ren took a step back. "Woah, Woah! We're not here to hurt you! We just want to help!"

"You...want to help me? A pathetic girl like...me?" The teal-haired girl said as tears formed in her eyes. Ren sighed. "So you're THAT kind of girl...Alright, follow me." Ren said as he picked her up with one of his arms, and the girl leaned over to his shoulders by accident.

"o-Oh...sorry!" The girl said. Ren shook his head. "It's alright. In fact, you seemed to be liking that just now!" Ren joked. The girl's face turned a bit red. Ren laughed.

"Come on, let's go before the sun sets," Ren said, still grabbing onto the girl's arms. Morgana followed him from the back.

* * *

Mika just finished her shower, and she felt as fresh as ever because she made unintelligible sounds whenever she felt good or happy.

"GWAHHHH! This dorm's showers are amazing!" Mika said as she continued to dry herself. She threw the used towel on top of Ren's school bag and whistled towards the closet, where Ren and Mika both share.

"God...does he ever clean his drawers?" Mika groaned as she glanced over at Ren's side of the closet. She then noticed something else that Ren should've put away, but was on full display in front of Mika.

"...Are these? Okay, I'm not touching that." Mika said as she quickly grabbed her clothes then moved away from the closet.

"Alright, first this underwear, white bra, then my favorite black skirt, then my white shirt..." Mika said as she organized the clothes. She wore her bra and her shirt first, and coincidentally, she glanced over the window.

She saw Ren and Morgana, and a teal-haired girl next to Ren. Ren was pulling her somewhere. "What in the world...?" Mika said. She then ran over towards the window, without her underwear.

"HEY! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!" Mika screamed out the window. Ren immediately looked over towards the window Mika was facing out of.

"Oh...taking this person somewhere to eat! Bye!" Ren said as he picked up the pace.

"HEY! I'M COMING WITH YOU! WAIT!" Mika said as she quickly changed, then rushed out the door.

"Oh, nearly forgot!" Mika said as she ran over to the table, and grabbed her MP3 player and her clip-on earphones.

* * *

Mika's appearance...hm...It's probably like Rei from PQ, but with a great concentration of Tsundere.

But sorry for the weirdly short chapter. I lost all the data from an internet failure, and google drive DIDN'T save for some reason (You had one job, google...)

I'll try to write longer chapters after to make it up. Sorry again.

Anyway, onto the reviews.

fatty635:Nice job so far with the revamp! Both version are great and can't wait for more of this

A: Thanks man, I hope this one is better than the previous one though because that's why I revamped the thing completely.

smack77721:Ren: please, do not put it as if we were in a relationship ... you'd have to be crazy because she was my girlfriend. Me and possibly the other readers: I give you 1 month and they are going to be a couple. RenRen if you can not summon you must do it to the old and reliable LIKE SUISIDE you will like: 3 no longer joke because he could not unvoke ? another good chapter. luck and have a good day

A: Thanks, and thanks again. Yeah, Mika is going to cause a lot of headaches for Ren probably, but their pairings are inevitable, no matter how close Ren seems like to another girl.

This was Edwards, and peace out.


	4. Back:story

As Mika ran down the stairs, she put her clip-on headphones on her ears and turned on the MP3 player. The music started blaring into her ears suddenly, and she turned down the volume in surprise.

"God, that nearly blew off my ears..." Mika said as she paced down the stairs. Yukari and Akihiko were on the ground floor and saw Mika rushing down the stairs.

"Hey, what's the hurry for?" Yukari said. Mika passed by her swiftly. "Sorry! I'll explain it when I come back!" Mika said. Yukari sighed and waved after Mika left.

"...She's quite a troublemaker, isn't she?" Akihiko said as he looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah...but she doesn't harm others physically with it at least."

Mika ran across the brick floor and saw Ren and the other girl with him. "Heyyy!" Mika said as she waved and charged at them. Ren saw her and sighed. "What's gotten you so worked up?" Ren said. Mika stepped on her breaks and stopped in front of the girl. "Hey. Nice to see you again." Mika said to the girl. The girl nodded shyly.

"Wait, you know her?" Ren asked. Mika nodded. "Yeah. She was getting harassed by this dark-skinned orange-haired girl. I obviously wanted to beat the living crap out of her, but this girl told me not to. I wasn't sure of what she was thinking, but I respected her decision and just let that orange-haired girl go with a warning instead." Mika explained. "Oh. And her name's Fuuka. Fuuka Yamagishi." Mika said as she smiled at Fuuka, and Fuuka weakly smiled back. But Ren was scratching his head in a dilemma.

"Well you see...she's back," Ren said as she looked at Fuuka. Fuuka looked down in guilt. Mika stood still for a moment, to process what Ren just said. "So you're telling me she's back to hurting her even after everything I've told her?" Mika said in disbelief. Ren nodded.

"Hm..." Mika said as she rubbed her chin in thought. She then looked at Fuuka, who flinched at Mika's stare. "Hey, hey! You didn't do anything wrong! I was just thinking about something..." Mika said as stared at Fuuka. She saw Fuuka's eyes, and it was shaking around Mika's ears.

Mika grabbed both her ears, and felt her clip-on headphones, and smiled. "Oh...so you wanted to try these?" Mika said as she pulled her clip-on headphones out. Fuuka shook her head. "n-No! It's nothing like that-"

"Here. You can have it." Mika said as she plugged it out with a blank face, and put it on Fuuka's hand. Fuuka jerked her body in shock. "r-Really?!" Fuuka said as she even covered her mouth in surprise.

"Yeah. Plus, I didn't really want to keep it for too long either, because..." Mika suddenly stopped and looked down. Ren tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?" Mika spiked her head up and forced a smile. "Nothing. It's nothing. Now, where were we again?"

"Well, we were going to go and have a meal, before you stuck your head out the window and began screaming..." Ren said. Mika cheerfully raised her fist into the air. "Then let's go! Can't keep the food waiting!" Mika said as she marched ahead of Ren and Fuuka.

"...Do you even know where you're going?" Ren said. Mika shuddered. "u-Uh...Yeah! That ramen shop we went last time, right?" Mika said hesitantly. Ren sighed and looked at Fuuka. "Are you alright with a bowl of ramen?" He asked Fuuka. Fuuka nodded. "Alright. To the ramen shop then."

"Okay!" Mika said as she continued to march onwards. But something about her was seeming a little off to Ren. _"She gave pretty good clip-on headphones to Fuuka with no charge...I wonder why..."_ Ren thought to himself.

"Let's go! What's keeping you behind!" Mika said from 10 meters away. Ren looked up and hustled his crutches. "Fine, fine! I'm on my way!" Ren said as he tried to keep pace with the non-injured Mika, but was hardly even keeping up because of his crutches.

* * *

When Mika arrived, she was in front of the ramen store's entrance. She looked back and saw Ren attempting to hustle with his crutches, which did give him a lot of speed but made him look extremely goofy.

"Next time, I'm getting you a wheelchair," Mika said as she leaned behind the walls of the ramen store. Fuuka soon followed Ren with Morgana next to her, and Ren sat down on the floor nearby, exhausted.

"Next time...I'm going to...make you...get on a wheelchair..." Ren said exhaustingly. Mika snickered. "Well, with those kinds of injuries, that's definitely not going to happen anytime soon," Mika said as she snickered. Ren glared at her from the floor. "

Now come on, we have a bowl of ramen to eat." Mika said as she picked up Ren from the floor with her arms. Ren suddenly grinned a little, which crept Mika out a bit.

"w-What's with the creepy smile?" Mika said. Ren stood up and swiped his shirt, and opened his mouth. "I never thought you'd be the type of wear such a plain underwear," Ren whispered in her ear.

Mika, instead of blushing, gritted her teeth and grabbed hard onto Ren's sides. "OW!" Ren yelped in pain and jumped back. "You're hurting a patient, you know!" Ren said.

"Well, I have full rights to hurt anyone if they violate personal space. Isn't that right, Fuuka?" Mika said as she slyly turned to Fuuka. "I wouldn't mind...actually..." Fuuka said quietly. Ren had to rub his ears to test his hearing just now because he wasn't believing what he just heard.

"...wait, what?" Mika said. Fuuka flinched back in the realization of what she just said. "w-Well, we should go and get some ramen now!" Fuuka said as she walked. "Um...That's the way to the bathroom..." Mika said. Fuuka jerked back and opened the door to the restaurant. "s-Sorry! People get really confused sometimes! Haha!" Fuuka said as she entered the ramen store. Ren, Mika, and Morgana followed from the back, and all three of them looked at each other in confusion.

The four sat on a table, where Mika sat next to Ren, and Fuuka sat next to Morgana. "Um...Is this your cat?" Fuuka asked Ren. Ren nodded. "He follows you wherever you go?" Fuuka asked. Ren nodded. "Even to school?" Ren nodded again. "Then-"

"Oh come on, no more talking! More food!" Mika said as she grabbed a menu and playfully tapped both Ren and Fuuka's head. Ren groaned, and Fuuka rubbed her head in pain. Mika then opened the menu and closed it almost immediately after.

"I'm getting Shoyu ramen. You guys better make up your mind before you make this into an interrogation." Mika said as she threw two menus, one to each person.

"Hey! How about me!" Morgana said. Mika shrugged. "I dunno. Cats don't eat ramen as far as my biological knowledge goes." Mika said as she laid back. "You have knowledge in your head? Wow, that's surprising." Ren said as he looked at the menu. Mika slammed her hand behind Ren's head in rage.

"Hey! Why me!?" Ren said. Ren was shuddering in pain because her flat hand made the slap more painful. Mika put her hand away and laid back.

"I can't hit animals, no matter the circumstances. Its a rule I made for myself." Mika said. Ren glared at her. "What, so you just hit others with no reason at all?" Ren protested. Mika nodded in approval.

"Yep. And you would be my first target every time." Mika said with a smile. Ren sighed. "Geez, thanks..."

"Hey, Fuuka. What are you going to get?" Mika said as she cooled down her hand by rubbing it. Fuuka was looking at the menu for the whole time, so she didn't witness what Mika did to Ren just now. "Um...I think I'll get the same one as you." Fuuka said.

"Cool! Shoyu ramen is the best ramen!" Mika said as she grabbed Fuuka's hands. Fuuka flinched a little but smiled in envy as she was putting away the menu.

"Sometimes whenever I look at a person like you, I'm always so jealous of how active and open they are...compared to me, who doesn't even talk to anyone except for Natsuki..." Fuuka said as she grabbed hold onto a cup of tea with both her hands.

"Is Natsuki the name of the girl that was just bullying you?" Ren asked. Fuuka nodded. Ren clenched his hands into a fist. "That bitch..." Ren said to himself as this only reminded him of that time when Kamoshida harassed Shiho, which eventually drove Shiho to commit suicide.

Ren couldn't let the same thing happen to Fuuka, as she seemed both more physically and mentally weaker then Shiho, so, therefore, she was more exposed to Natsuki's harassment. Plus, if a person like Fuuka did have a breakdown similar to Shiho...Ren just couldn't bear to imagine the results.

"Um...Ren-kun, was it?" Fuuka said. Ren looked up, escaping all thoughts in his head. "Huh?" Ren said as he picked his head up. "Oh, yeah, that's my name," Ren said. Fuuka nodded.

"...Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Fuuka said quietly. Ren was about to retaliate against that statement, but Mika slammed the table and Fuuka flinched. "No, you're not going to be fine," Mika said as she stood up and looked at Fuuka with a deadly eye. Ren saw that Fuuka was shaking a little. "Hey, calm down. I know how you feel, but you shouldn't try to scare her like that." Ren said.

"I'm pretty sure you feel the same way as I do, but let's keep it down a little. We're here to eat, not interrogate Fuuka about her life decisions." Ren said as he grabbed Mika's arm.

"..." Mika slowly gave into Ren's grip and sat back down. "I'm sorry...I just...got carried away." Mika said. "It's just that...I didn't want the same thing to happen to Fuuka..." Mika said as she looked down towards the table.

But then, Ren realized something was off. The way she was acting just now, dozed off, and the way she's worried about Fuuka, and 'how she doesn't want it to repeat for her', she has something to tell Ren that he doesn't know about.

"So...what are you hiding?" Ren said as he crossed his arms. "w-What?! I'm not hiding anything!" Mika said aggressively.

Ren shook his head. "No, you're definitely hiding something," Ren said. "The way you acted just now in front of the dorm when you gave Fuuka your headphones, and the way you acted just now when Fuuka said 'don't worry about it', there's something you're hiding from us," Ren said as he looked at Fuuka, and Fuuka nodded.

"I mean...I agree with Ren-kun, you should definitely tell us if there's a problem. I'd like to help...just like the way you helped me back then." Fuuka said as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Mika sighed. "...I guess I have no choice then. But don't expect a Christopher Nolan level plot." Mika said as she sipped on her green tea and put both her hands on the table.

* * *

"Look! It's Seno!" A boy that was around at least 3 other boys said. Young Mika put her head down, tightened her clip-on earphones and attempted to ignore them as she tried to walk through the school gates.

"Hey Seno, where do you think you're going?" A boy said as he grabbed her shoulder. Mika immediately slapped his hands off his shoulders, and the boy laughed.

"Quite the reprisal there. Too bad that won't be enough strength to beat up 5 elementary school boys..." The boy said as the others began surrounding her in front the school gate. One of the boys made sure no one was looking.

"p-Please..." Mika said as she began shaking. The boys grinned at her fear. "...d-Don't do this..." Mika said as she was now covering her sight with both her hands.

The boys all began laughing in unison, and the one in the middle took out an object that reflected through the morning sunlight.

"k-k-Knife..." Mika said as she was now just about to run away. "Why? Are you going to pee yourself now?" The boy with a knife said as he licked the knife. "We're just getting started."

The two boys grabbed her by both her arms, and she couldn't use her arms now. The boys made her stand up, and another boy went in front of her and punched her straight in the stomach.

"GRRK!" Mika said in pain. The boy smiled and punched her again. "AHH! PLEASE, STOP!" Mika said as she was screaming and crying at the same time now.

"HAHAHAHA! DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK WE'RE GOING TO LET YOU GO SO EASILY?" The boy said as he punched her in the face this time. Mika's head was completely turned around because of the force of the punch, and her nose and lips were bleeding now.

"Please...help..." Mika mumbled under her pained breath. The boy now stepped out, and the boy with a knife came in. Mika looked up and shook her head. "n-No..."

"Yes. And there's nothing you can do about it." The boy said as he took the knife on her face and slowly moved down to her shirt. Mika movements stopped in shock and began shaking her head again. "You can't do this! We're only-"

"Shut the fuck up! I do whatever I want!" The boy said as he swiped the knife in front of Mika's face. The knife left a small scar below her ears, and Mika yelped in pain.

"Well, let's get the show started." The boy said as he slowly moved the knife back to the top of her shirt. "n-No...NO!"

The boy grinned and the knife slowly made way down the shirt, and the boys blindfolded her now. Her lack of sight made her worried more, and the boys felt extenuating happiness from that.

"Hey! We got a situation!" The boy on the lookout said. The boy with a knife stopped the movement of his knife and looked back at the boy on the lookout.

"What?!" The boy with the knife said. The boys grabbing onto Mika's arms suddenly loosened their grip. Mika took the opportunity and shook her self from their grip, and began running away.

"Catch her! What the hell are you doing?!" Mika heard from a distance, and she was dropping tears as she was running away frantically.

* * *

Fuuka and Ren looked in shock, and Mika's iris was shaking because of the fear of everything that happened that day.

"Of course, if something like this happened during the present day, they wouldn't be alive," Mika said as she sipped on her tea once more. Fuuka and Ren both had a worried look on their faces.

"You had rough times, didn't you?" Ren said. Mika snickered. "Yeah. It's pure luck that I was able to survive that day. I never thought they would go that far because the days previous they would bully me, but not to that extent..." Mika said as she sighed.

"So from that day onwards, you strengthened both your behavior and your physical so you wouldn't get bullied get any more," Fuuka said. Mika nodded. "I see...perhaps I should also..." Mika cut Fuuka off. "No, I don't think you should follow the way I did."

"Why?" Fuuka asked. "Because if you become too strong, it's hard to get friends. Hell, almost impossible even." Mika said. Mika then looked at Ren with a bit of a emotional expression. "And Ren is the only one that didn't swipe me off as a weirdo..."

"But you were popular among the classmates," Ren said. Mika shook her head. "For the first month, its always like that. It changes because someone in every school finds out about what I did back then." Mika said.

"What is this thing you did back then, Mika-chan?" Fuuka asked. Mika looked down in thought.

"I'm a total hypocrite."

* * *

Mika opened the door to the school gym and turned on the lights. She walked into the empty gym at midnight and walked towards the storage room. The storage room had a lot of stuff. Volleyballs, badminton rackets, and in this case, a bunch of bullies that were tired up who were all now scared to death of Mika.

Mika opened the doors to the storage room and flicked the switch. She was met with a bunch of elementary school boys her age, that were taped and tied, and their eyes were all either filled with fear or tears.

Mika smiled and put her hands inside one of her pockets, and out of the pocket was a knife, similar to the one that they used to harass Mika months ago.

"Mmmph!" One of the boys mumbled. Mika sighed. "Oh...you just want attention no matter the situation, don't you?" Mika said as she rubbed the knife constantly, and neared the boy. The boy shook his head in denial, and Mika nodded her head like a total psycho.

"You're not getting out of this...ALIVE." Mika said as she swung the knife against the boy's throat. The boy screamed, and Mika's bloodfest began with that one swing of her knife.

* * *

"The police never did find out, because there wasn't anyone at that time to even come to the gym anyway." Mika said. "Only thing they saw was a fingerprint-less knife, and a bunch of boys tied up and found dead swimming in a pool of blood."

"..." Ren and Fuuka were both in shock, but they were both hesitant to speak. Instead, Mika decided to speak up first. "I know what you're thinking, and it's probably correct."

"I hurt them. More then I thought. My rage took over and I did the thing that I most despised myself." Mika said as she held on to the cup of green tea as tight as possible. "...I still remember every scar they gave me, and every scar I gave them. I gave them something that's beyond scars..." Mika stopped talking and had her head completely down now. Fuuka didn't know what to do and was just staring at Mika breaking down in helplessness. "If they're only alive right now, I..."

"Hey," Ren said as he put one hand on Mika's shoulders. Mika looked up in surprise. "Look, I know I'm not the best at justifying harassment, but listen. You made a mistake. That's bad. But getting depressed over things you can't resolve isn't going to make it anymore better." Ren said as he continued to hold onto Mika's shoulders.

"..." But Mika was still silent, and Ren sighed. "I guess you leave me with no choice..." Ren said as he neared Mika. "w-What-"

Ren wrapped his arms around Mika and hugged her from the side. Fuuka wasn't embarrassed at this sight, but she was smiling instead. "h-Hey!? What's that smile mean?!" Mika said as she was trying to loosen Ren's grip. Fuuka giggled. "It means Ren-kun is really caring for you!" Fuuka said. Mika reddened up.

"s-Shaddup!" Mika said as she flailed her arms around like a baby kitten. _"She's...unusually cute when she did that just now."_ Ren thought to himself.

A good amount of minute passed by when their ramen finally arrived. "Here's your...wait, Ren?! What the hell?!" The waiter said. The trio all looked up, and to Ren and Mika it was a familiar face.

"Sup Junpei," Ren said as he continued to embrace Mika. Junpei put down the food onto the table and stared at Ren and Mika. "So...you guys were in a THAT kind of relationship," Junpei said as he sighed. "There goes another chick in my sights..."

"What was that?" Mika said. Junpei shook his head. "n-Nothing!" Junpei then naturally turned over to Fuuka who he stole a glance at. "Oooh... what's your name, hotshot?" Junpei asked as he leaned a bit closer to her. Fuuka pulled back a little. "Um...Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Oh, what a beautiful-*SMACK!* GAH!" Junpei wailed in pain as the boss of this ramen shop came behind him. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Iori? Picking up girls during your work time, in MY restaurant?" The boss said. Junpei turned back to face him straight up. "n-No, sir!" Junpei said as Mika was trying to hide her laugh.

"He was just trying to compliment this girl. Nothing big. Just a few talks and he would've left." Ren said as he was still grasping Mika. The boss sighed, patted Junpei on the back and left.

Junpei wiped his sweat. "I have no clue how that excuse worked...but thanks dude, you literally saved both my life and my payroll..." Junpei said as he gave the bowls of ramen to their respective owners.

"So, you're going to let go of her, or...?" Junpei said as he put both his arms on his sides. Ren shrugged. "Not until she admits her mistakes," Ren said. Junpei raised an eyebrow. "What is this 'mistake' we're talking about?" Junpei said.

"n-None of your business! Go get me a can of soda!" Mika exclaimed. Junpei flinched. "y-Yes Ma'am!" Junpei said as he flailed away. Mika sighed.

"...I'll say it back at the dorm. Can't do it at a public place." Mika said. Ren shook his head. "Nope. Right here or never." Ren said. Mika groaned.

"...I'm sorry to myself and the others for being selfish. Selfish for only thinking of myself and my own needs." Mika said as she looked down, still stuck in Ren's grasp. Ren and Fuuka smiled, and Ren slowly let go of her.

"w-Wait..." Mika said. Ren stopped. "Hm?"

"Just a bit more..." Mika said. Ren smiled warmly. "Sure, but when we get back to the dorm. Because the ramen is going to get cold." Ren said as he completely let go of her. Fuuka was looking down for some reason.

"Uh...Fuuka? You alright?" Ren asked. Fuuka picked her head up in surprise and blushed. "I-I wasn't thinking of you two-"

"Just send me through a text message of what you imagined Ren and I were doing..." Mika said as she took her phone out and gave it to Fuuka. Fuuka tapped on her phone and then tapped away.

Then a ring was heard on Mika's phone, and Mika took it out and read what Fuuka sent. Mika right away hid it from Ren's sight, and flustered a little. "t-This is..." Mika mumbled. Fuuka shook her hands in hesitant motion. "p-Please! It was only natural!" Fuuka said.

"...Are you the kind to read THOSE kinds of fanfics?" Mika said as she grinned. Fuuka's face turned tomato red, and she covered it with both her hands. "n-NO!"

Ren laughed. "Okay, the ramen is cold as ice now, so I'm pretty sure we should eat it before it freezes up," Ren said as he grabbed his chopsticks. "Thanks for the meal!" Ren said.

The two other girls followed. "Thanks for the meal!" The three slurped on the ramen and continued their fun talks at the same time.

* * *

"Guh...I'm full..." Mika said as the three were walking back to the dorm. Fuuka rubbed her belly, also due to the amount she had to eat. "I agree...the ramen was good, but the amount they gave was a little too much," Fuuka said as she heard a grumble.

"Nah, I think it was just fine," Ren said as he was walking between the two girls, and was also cleaning his glasses at the same time. Fuuka shuddered a little. "You could see without your glasses, Ren-kun?" Fuuka asked in wonder.

Ren shrugged. "It's a fake." Mika stared at Ren, disappointed. "Then why would you wear it?" Mika said. "Cus' its cool. And it feels unnatural without it." Ren said. Mika sighed. "Whatever you want, boss..."

"Oh, I think we'll need to split apart from here," Fuuka said. Ren and Mika nodded. "Well, you got my number right? If you have any problems, remember to call it!" Mika said. Fuuka nodded happily and walked off into the streets.

"Wait! One last thing!" Fuuka said as she jogged back towards the two. She dug into her pockets and took out Mika's clip-on earphones. "What- But I gave you those!" Mika said. Fuuka shook her head. "No, I think you need this. I personally think this will help later on." Fuuka said as she threw the headphones to Mika's hands, and ran away.

"w-Wait!" But at that moment, Fuuka was already gone. "Hah...I guess I'll continued using the thing that reminds me of my nightmarish childhood..." Mika said as she put the headphones into her pockets.

Ren and Mika both walked along the brick streets and Ren was in deep thought. _"So Mika didn't have the brightest life at her young age..."_ Ren said in his head. Mika stared at him weirdly.

"...What are you thinking about? Are you like Fuuka who thinks about-"

"No, It's not that. I was wondering about that story you told earlier." Ren said as he stood still and faced Mika. "Tell me, who was this person that the kid on the lookout saw?"

Mika rubbed her chin. "...I'm not sure. I was busy running away, so I couldn't see what was behind me. I don't even know if its a woman or a man." Mika explained. She sighed. "But either way, I'm pretty thankful. I have a huge debt to pay for him or her. I'll even pay it with my body if I need to." Mika said.

"Yeah, I don't think you should do that. It's 'unsafe'." Ren said. Mika snickered. "Why, you jealous?" Ren looked dumbfounded. "Aren't you the one that wanted a hug from me when we're back home?" Ren said. Mika reddened up. "s-Shut up!"

Ren laughed. "It's alright. I'm okay if it makes you happy." Ren said as he put his hands in his pockets, as both of them continued walking. Mika looked away from Ren and smiled.

 _"He's a bit of a pain sometimes...But I like it."_ Mika thought to herself. Ren was also looking away from her and still had both his hands in his pockets, while he had a huge dad smile on his face.

 _"She's annoying at times, but it seems like she's got her own story as well...I guess she's not the kind of person I thought..."_ Ren thought to himself.

Both of them eventually turned around and coincidentally met their eyes together. "AH! WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!" Mika said as she covered her face with both her hands. Ren jerked back a little. "I-I was going to ask the same thing!"

"You were having weird thoughts about me again, weren't you? Imagining me topless or something?" Mika said as she covered her chest. Ren shook his head. "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?! COME ON, LET'S GO BACK BEFORE IT GETS MORE AWKWARD!" Ren said as he grabbed Mika's wrists and paced his way towards the dorm.

"Hey! I'm..." Mika stopped and felt the embrace of Ren. "It's warm..." Mika said to herself as she was getting dragged by him. "What was that?" Ren asked as he turned his head back, while still pacing along the streets.

"Nothing! Just do what you were doing!" Mika said as she turned around. Ren nodded and continued dragging her along the night streets.

* * *

As the duo got back, Ren was all sweaty on his shirt and was constantly turning the temperature of the aircon.

"I'm going into the showers first. Turned the heaters on." Mika said as she neared the bathroom. Ren stood up in protest. "Nope, I'm going in first. Can't you see I'M the one that pulled your entire weight for the whole time?!" Ren said as he pointed to his wet frizzy hair and his wet shirt.

Mika shrugged. "Nah. None of my business. Now, if you excuse me-"

"I'M GOING IN FIRST!" Ren said as he charged towards the bathroom. Mika pulled herself against the door and blocked Ren's path. "Nope! I'm not going to move until you get back to your seat!" Mika said playfully.

"Grr..." Ren growled in irritation. He slammed his hand against the wall next to her head and leaned his entire head towards her face.

"Hey, are you in-" A voice said as it opened the door. Ren forgot he didn't lock the door, and Yukari barged into the room. She saw Ren and Mika in front of the bathroom, while Ren was wet all over, and his hands were on the wall next to Mika's head.

"Um...Am I interrupting something?" Yukari said quietly. Ren and Mika both reddened, and grew distance between each other. "n-NO! Definitely not what you think- WOAHH!" Mika's words were cut off when she slipped on Ren's sweat that was dripping on the floor at the last minute and slammed her entire body against Ren.

Mika fell on Ren's chest, and Ren was lying down, with his back completely on the floor. "Mm..." Mika said as she sat up, and realized she was sitting on Ren's crouch. "AHH! PERVERT!"

"I'm...going to let you guys be. Mitsuru-senpai said to gather the group in 20 minutes." Yukari said as she slowly closed the door. "Wait! Yukari!" Yukari was already gone when Ren begged for support.

"You made me look like a total idiot!" Ren exclaimed to Mika. "Well, then nothing's changed, did it?!" Mika said. Ren opened his mouth and then closed it. "Okay fine, but still. You're the one that slipped on the floor and landed on my chest!"

"Well, that was YOUR sweat, wasn't it?!" Mika said. The arguing continued on and on, and possibly what Ren and Mika thought of each other during their walk in the streets were all turned back because of this moment.

* * *

The group was already gathered on the first floor, and Mitsuru sighed. "Do they do anything other than arguing?" Mitsuru said as she was sitting on the couch.

"Uh...they were doing something else, but...I can't say." Yukari hesitantly said. "Hm? What did they do?" Mitsuru asked.

"Nothing...special." Yukari said as she looked away. Akihiko realized what she was trying to say, and turned his head around because he blushed.

"Anyway, we're not going to get anyway unless they come down...can you go grab them again, Takeba?" Mitsuru asked. Yukari nodded and walked up.

"...I swear, its always the Juniors that cause the most trouble..." Mitsuru said as she laid back on the couch.

* * *

That was the chapter that everyone was waiting for, and I hope it lived up to the wait. If not, then I'm sorry.

I realized this morning that I lost a favorite, possibly for working on this too long. I have 4 AP tests next week and two presentations. I wish I could do more, but I think the next chapter is going to take a while.

Ericmc020304:Interesting story. I'm surprised that they allowed Mika and Ren in same. room. I mean, there's only 3 female characters aside Mika. (Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Yukari). Dont remember how many doors there was on 3rd floor. Unless Mitsuru room do take up all extra space. Also, if Ren's elbows are broken, he shouldn't be able to help Fuuka get up. Poor Ren, he's doomed to be with Mika. that what happen when you befriend a trundere personality haha. Keep updates comin'

A: Yeah, some things are a bit forced, and I hope I can resolve it later throughout the story. Thanks for reading the fanfic though, and finding its faults. I need those.

smack77721:neglect for me it does not matter if the chapter is long or short, the important thing is how it goes the course and the plot of the chapter. you are doing well. have luck and a good day

A: You my friend, is what drives me to continue this fanfic. Thanks for everything.

Oh, and you might wonder: Where's Morgana? Didn't he follow them back at the dorm?

Well, it was definately intentional, and I'll be revealing next chapter why.

But anyway, in conclusion, favorite and follow and leave a review if you hated it or not.


	5. Lo:ve?

"Hey...Are you guys still in there?" Yukari said as she stood outside of their room. But Yukari only heard a bunch of screams across the room from both Ren and Mika, and she groaned in annoyance.

"God, its like they're at kindergarten..." Yukari murmured. She sighed and opened the door. "Hey, Mitsuru-senpai called you-"

"WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Mika said as she slammed open the door, and Ren soon followed. The door slapped Yukari flat on her face and fell flat onto the floor. She covered her face with both her hands in pain

Ren noticed Yukari and came up to her in panic. "Oh my god, are you okay?!" Ren said. Yukari shook her head. "NO I'M CLEARLY NOT!"

Mika also got on the floor and checked Yukari's scars. "Sorry bout' that. Hopefully, this makes it up." Mika said as she dug her hands into her pockets, and brought out a packet of blue pills.

"Here. Swallow it. You'll feel better any second." Mika said. "Or do you need water? We have some in our room." Mika said as she stood up. Yukari shook her head again.

"No, it's alright," Yukari said as she popped the pills in her mouth, and swallowed forcefully. Ren stared at Mika in worry. "What kind of weird shit did you give her, Mika?" Ren whispered.

"My aunt's a pharmacist. Trust me on this." Mika said. Ren opened his mouth but closed it as he didn't want to argue at this moment.

Yukari then felt her face, and the scars were disappearing like magic. She widened her eyes in shock, and Mika smiled. Ren stared in wonder.

"Better?" Mika said as she smiled and held out her hand towards Yukari. Yukari blushed in embarrassment and grabbed her hand. "Yeah..."

"Alrighty then, let's not keep Mitsuru-senpai waiting for so long, shall we?" Mika said as she trotted down the hallway. Ren and Yukari looked at each other for a while, both with the same thought in their minds.

"She's weird..." Yukari mumbled. Ren nodded. "She might be bipolar-"

"Are you guys coming or not?!" Mika shouted from the bottom floor. "We're coming!" Ren and Yukari both flinched and ran down the hall towards the stairs.

* * *

The squad walked along the dark green streets of Iwatodai, and Mitsuru was leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Mika asked.

"To school." Mitsuru said. Ren looked in disbelief. "Midnight classes? Really?"

Mitsuru snickered. "No, but you'll see when we get there." She said as the whole squad continued walking along the empty coffin-filled streets.

Akihiko stared at Mika for a bit. "She...looks familiar. I wonder why." Mika noticed his stare and grinned.

"Hey, if you want to bang a girl, then just say it." Mika said. Ren shook and jumped to her, then blocked her mouth with both his hands.

"Sorry bout' that senpai. Can you forget that she just said that?" Ren said as he fought against Mika's retaliation. Akihiko laughed and nodded.

"She's really like a little sister to you, isn't' she? You better take care of her well." Akihiko said with a bitter smile.

Ren looked at Akihiko in worry. "Is something the problem Akihiko-senpai?" Ren asked Akihiko. Akihiko shook his head in denial. "No, it's nothing."

Ren obviously doubted this statement but decided it would be best to let him keep it to himself, as he didn't want to cause problems by trying to dig into Akihiko's secrets.

Ren then banged his head on Mika's back as she stopped all of a sudden. Ren rubbed his forehead in stinging pain.

"Ow! What the hell was that for-" Ren's words were cut short when he finally saw why Mika stopped.

The squad was at the school alright, but it was different. Usually, there wouldn't be anything in the middle of the field, but this time, a huge tower covered the entire school field, and it was tall as a skyscraper.

"What...the hell?" Ren said as he fixed his glasses. Mika stared with her mouth open, and Yukari was equally shocked as the others.

But Akihiko and Mitsuru looked as calm as ever, if not excited. Mitsuru was smirking, and Akihiko looked like he was warming up for a brawl.

"Well? You kids ready to beat up some shadows?" Akihiko said as he cracked his knuckles. The three Juniors gulped and nodded their head hesitantly.

"Good. Now let's go!" Akihiko said as he charged in. The rest of them followed from the back.

* * *

The squad entered the tall malformed building and stood in the main hall. Mitsuru stood in front of the squad.

"This place is called Tartarus." Mitsuru said. "Toothpaste Tartarus?" Mika said as she snickered. Yukari sighed.

"We're going to get set up, so stand-by for a bit until we're finished preparing." Akihiko said. The squad dispersed to different parts of the main hall.

Ren looked around and stared at every corner of this place with precise analysis. Mika sighed and stared at Ren with a great amount of disappointment.

Ren noticed Mika's cold stare. "What?" Ren said. Mika shook her head. "Nothing. You just look really retarded just now." Mika said.

"Well, takes one to know one." Ren said as he continued to look around. Mika felt a surge of rage coming from her but held it in.

"...Aha!" Ren exclaimed loudly, and his voice echoed across the large space. Something scruffled around his bag in surprise.

"Mm...what's all the noise?" Morgana said through the large bag. Ren had to bring an extra big sized bag, to hide away Morgana in his actual form. Ren looked back at Morgana and pointed at the blue door in front of him.

"Found it." Ren said. Morgana looked through one of the small holes in the bag. "Wow...so this is the Velvet Room of this dimension."

"Hey, don't get surprised yet. We haven't even entered it." Ren said as he put his hands on the handle, but felt a cold hand on his shoulders.

"WHO'S THERE?" Ren said as he flicked his entire body towards the figure.

"Woah, hey!" Mika held back and grabbed both of Ren's arms. "Geez, what are you freaking out for?"

"Oh, sorry...I didn't see you there." Ren said as he looked down in a bit of guilt. Mika sighed. "It's alright. But what's with that blue door anyway?"

Ren looked at Mika in wonder. "Wait, you can see this door?" Ren asked. Mika nodded. "Yep. It's also glowing for...some reason."

Ren looked at the door and the door was indeed glowing, in Velvet Room's signature color, blue.

Ren didn't know what to do now and just went with the flow. Ren grabbed Mika's wrists, opened the door, and the two both entered at the same time.

* * *

A bright white light was met before their eyes as they entered, but the light soon disappeared, and they were both sitting on a blue chair.

"Huh...? Where am I?" Mika said as she looked around in her chair. Ren also looked around, along with Morgana, who was still in the bag.

The place was a bit different compared to the Velvet Room Ren was in before. It looked like it was constantly moving up, which the room gave it off as it looked like an elevator shaft for some reason.

The resident in this Velvet Room also wore all blue and had an attire of an elevator attendant of some sort.

"Well...it seems like you were a bit late. But, anyhow, Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor said as he was sitting on his iconic desk.

"I wonder if he ever stands up..." Morgana whispered to Ren. Igor somehow heard this and laughed. "Well...that 'thing' in your bag seems to be very aware of my habits..."

"Uh, yeah. Putting that aside, where the hell am I?" Mika said in a half-aggressive and half-confused tone.

"Now, now. Don't get too scared my dear guest. We are only here to support you on your journey." Igor said. "Now, it seems like you both are very special. A duo of Wild Card. Possibly the first time in a few generations."

"Wild Card? What the hell is that-" Mika said. Ren covered her mouth to make sure she doesn't say anything else stupid.

"So, uh...who's that woman next to you?" Ren asked. The woman looked familiar, but Ren just couldn't recall his memories right now.

"This here is Elizabeth, my assistant." Igor said as he pointed his hands towards Elizabeth. Elizabeth waved.

"Hello." Elizabeth said. Mika and Ren both waved back.

"So...It seems like the young lady here has just recently awakened to her power," Igor said as he giggled. "And this boy has awakened to his persona for...an unknown amount of time. Fascinating..."

"Well, I suppose the boy here haven't been in the Velvet Room yet, as I don't remember him being in here." Igor said. "So how about a...short lesson?" Igor said as he looked at Elizabeth.

"My pleasure." Elizabeth said as she stepped forward.

"Oh god..." Mika groaned. Ren glared at her with his cold eyes. "You better not sleep on this lesson. It's important."

* * *

After a few minutes, Ren and Mika got out of the Velvet Room. Both of them were yawning. For Ren, he already knew everything she said, but for Mika, she just gets sleepy whenever someone talks to her for a long time.

Mitsuru and the others were finishing their preparation. But Yukari seemed to be the only one that is actually preparing for a fight.

"Something preventing you from fighting, Mitsuru-senpai?" Ren asked. Mitsuru nodded. "You see, the structure of Tartarus changed every day, so therefore, you need a navigator to guide you." Mitsuru said.

"And that navigator is you?" Mika asked in a bit of a jokingly tone. Mitsuru glared at her coldly. "Shut it, Seno. Or else I will have to execute you..."

"e-Execute...?" Mika said as she jumped behind Ren in fear. Ren sighed. "I'm pretty sure it won't kill you, Mika...But it would teach you a lesson of not to mess around with our senpai here."

"Amamiya is on point. It will not kill you, but it might damage you mentally." Mitsuru said. "I don't think the word 'might' fits into that sentence very well..." Akihiko said as he shivered, possibly from second-hand experience.

"All done!" Yukari said as she held up her bow and a bulk of arrows on her back. Akihiko and Mitsuru got to a nearby space, and Mitsuru walked over to Ren for directions.

"So, who's going to be the leader?" Mika said. Mitsuru titled her head in thought. "Field leader, in this case." Mitsuru said. Mika snickered. "Whatever, it's the same thing. So who's going to be the leader?" Mika said as Mitsuru was grinding her teeth under her mouth in rage.

"I'd say a vote for Ren." Yukari said. Mika turned towards Yukari in surprise. "Him? Why not me?" Mika said.

"Cause I don't bicker around towards people unlike you." Ren said. Mika frowned. "This...This is just the way I speak! Why are you making me feel guilty!" Mika said.

"A vote for Ren." Akihiko said. "Same here." Mitsuru said.

"All right, I guess it's up to me to decide." Ren said. Mika was looking down and frowning, with her cheeks puffed up. She was constantly fidgeting around with her long beige hair.

"...I'd say Mika is suitable as a leader." Ren said with his arms crossed. Mika looked up in surprise. "But...why?" Mika asked in a shocked tone.

Ren snickered. "You might behave like a kid, but being a Wild Card isn't a simple feat to have." Ren said as he put his hands over her shoulder. "And I'm pretty sure you'll do just fine. Any objections?" Ren asked the squad.

"..." The squad was silent over the shock of Ren choosing Mika as a leader.

"Nothing? Alright then, let's roll out!" Ren said as he charged in front, soon Mika following him, and Yukari hustling to catch up with them.

"...Are you sure this is going to be fine?" Akihiko asked Mitsuru. Mitsuru shook her head. "But I'm not sure. We'll have to see if this is going to be the right decision or not."

* * *

"The trio finally stepped into the hallways of Tartarus. Mika stands tall and mighty, while Ren is just being a pussy and standing back." Mika said as she rubbed both her hands rapidly, and with an excited look on her face.

"What...are you doing?" Yukari asked as she was in her combat stance. Ren also stared in confusion. "I didn't make you the leader of this team to prove the laws of friction, Mika..."

But soon enough, a bright flame came out of both of Mika's hands, and the other two jumped back in surprise.

"w-What the hell?" Yukari said as she tried to hide behind her bow. Ren also looked in surprise, but Mika was smiling.

"How long did you even have this for?" Ren asked in a bit of a rushed tone. Mika turned towards Ren and smiled. "Well, I only found out yesterday. But its hella dope!"

Ren stood up and so did Yukari. "Well, I guess that means you'll have a ranged weapon." Ren said. Yukari was still a bit hesitant to near her. "Yeah, but just don't face it towards me during combat..."

'I won't, I won't." Mika said as she clapped her hands once, and the flames disappeared. Mika turned around and looked back towards Yukari and Ren.

"Well? Let's kick some shadow ass!" Mika said as she ran forward, and Ren and Yukari followed.

"...Hopefully, she doesn't slip and fall." Ren said as Yukari nodded in agreement.

* * *

The trio came back with sweat all over their backs, and a plenty amount of loot, including a 10,000 Yen bill Mika found on the floor.

Mika huffed and fell to the floor. "Gah...I'm exhausted as hell..." Mika said as she constantly flapped her white shirt.

"Yeah...I think I'm going to be out for a bit..." Yukari said as she fell to the nearby wall. Mitsuru smiled.

"You have done well today. We should all go back and take a rest." Mitsuru said as she looked at the three, who were all collapsed on the floor.

"Ren...I don't think I can move my legs..." Mika said. Ren sighed. "I'm not going to carry you back. You only used your hands for most of the time anyway." Ren said as he recalled to the time when for the whole time she literally spammed her passive fire attack at the shadows.

"Guh..." Mika said in defeat as she puffed her cheeks again.

"Alright, let's get going everyone!" Akihiko said as he stood up, as Yukari and Mitsuru also followed.

"I'm not moving until you give me a piggy-back ride." Mika said. Ren looked in disbelief. "What are you, 12?!" Ren said.

Mika nodded. "Isn't that the age of girls you like?!" Mika said. Ren shook aggressively. "n-No! Where did you even get that information?!"

"Your talking cat!" Mika said. "What in the world are you talking about?!" Morgana said through the bag.

Ren scratched his head and groaned. "...Fine. But only this time." Ren said as he fell to his knees and faced his back towards Mika.

"Yay!" Mika said. Ren sighed. _"This girl seriously has some major bipolar disorder...Once she's rough as hell and this time she's soft like a marshmallow..."_ Ren thought to himself.

Mika climbed onto Ren's back and got the piggy-back ride. Ren blushed a little, as he felt Mika's breasts touch his back. _"Jesus...she's at least a C-cup."_ Ren thought to himself.

"What are you thinking?" Mika whispered to Ren's ear. Ren turned his face away from her's so she doesn't see his blush. Mika realized this and snickered in response.

"Oh...so this is your fetish." Mika said as she hugged Ren from the back, and pressed her breasts harder onto Ren's back. Ren was technically turning into a living tomato at this point and decided to do the only thing that was adequate for this situation.

Ren ran. Fast. Real fast. He zoomed across Tartarus and exited faster than the others. He didn't know the directions, but he ran through instinct.

"h-Hey! Why are you running-" Yukari was about to stop Ren, but he escaped her grip and continued running.

"Sorry, I'll talk to you back at the dorm!" Ren said as he faded into the distance.

Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari looked in confusion.

"I think its because of that girl again." Akihiko said as she sighed. "She really reminds me of someone, but I just can't recall."

"I feel sorry for Ren...he has to deal with Mika every day and every night..." Yukari said as she stared into the school gates, which Ren just flashed through.

"...Agreed. Now, let's return back to the dorm before Seno does anything else weird." Mitsuru said as Yukari and Akihiko followed.

* * *

Ren and Mika arrived at the dorm, and Ren technically threw Mika to a nearby couch and she collapsed onto the couch.

"...Remind me to never do that again." Ren said. Mika looked up from the couch and stared into Ren's eyes.

"What?" Ren said as he sat next to her, leaving the large bag to the side. Mika continued staring into his eyes, and Ren pulled himself back a little.

"Hey...what weird trick are you planning to do?" Ren said. Mika didn't respond to Ren, and continued nearing Ren silently. Ren took a step back each time Mika did, and Mika was on top of Ren, down on all fours.

"Ren...I..." Mika said. Ren gulped. _"Is this...?"_ Ren thought to himself as he fixed his glasses.

"I...I..." Mika was murmuring now, and she was hesitant to respond. Ren was kind of knowing what she'll answer, but he kept his mouth shut.

"I want you to keep me safe always! Got it?!" Mika screamed at the top of her lungs. She shook so hard, that her long beige hair flashed across her face.

Ren smiled and was relieved. _"At least it's not what I thought it was going to be..."_ Ren thought to himself. Ren then sat up on the couch and put his hands on Mika's head.

"..." Mika was silent, but she was smiling. Ren continued patting her head, and Mika soon closed her eyes and fell into dreamland.

Mika then leaned her head over to Ren's shoulders, and the Dark Hour soon ended right at that moment. "Perfect timing...now everything can be peaceful and quiet." Ren said as he leaned back, along with Mika's head also.

Ren looked at Mika sleep for a bit. Ren snickered at the thought that this was the girl that she has to sleep with every day.

"I guess it could've been...worse?" Ren said to himself. He then shrugged it off.

Ren then picked Mika up from the couch with both of his hands and carried her upstairs to their room. Ren quietly opened the door and laid Mika carefully on the bed.

Ren wiped his sweat and took off his shirt, revealing his muscles and other parts of his body that he shouldn't really show to a sleeping girl.

But either way, Ren fell next to her and closed his eyes.

* * *

The remaining trio made it back to the dorm, as the Dark Hour finally finished.

"Are they actually here now?" Yukari said as she noticed the lights were on in the ground floor of the dorm.

Mitsuru looked around and checked, but no one was on sight except for a large bag that was...swirling around.

"w-What is that bag doing?!" Mitsuru said as she pointed towards it. Yukari noticed and stared until she finally realized what it was.

Yukari neared the bag, and Akihiko and Mitsuru were hiding behind Yukari. Yukari opened it, and Morgana popped his head out of the bag.

"Aw...come ere' you little thing!" Yukari said as she opened her arms, and Morgana jumped to her chest. Mitsuru and Akihiko looked in disbelief.

"w-Who would keep a cat in their bag?!" Akihiko said. Yukari looked back at her senpais as they stared in shock.

"Oh. It's Ren's cat. He brings it every day to school." Yukari said as she petted the cat. It was nice and all, but she had one worry-

"Hi." Morgana said towards the senpais. _"Yeah...I was worried about 'that'."_ Yukari thought to herself, as she couldn't imagine what they would think of Ren if they found out he had a talking cat.

"Fascinating..." Mitsuru said as she got on her knees and examined Morgana. Morgana tried to escape in fear, but Yukari held him tight. "It's alright. She won't kill you. At least." Yukari said.

"That didn't help at all!" Morgana said. Mitsuru touched Morgana's head and tapped on it repeatedly. "s-Stop...it..." Morgana was getting weak from Mitsuru's petting.

"Meooooooow..." Morgana was just pleasuring it at this point. Mitsuru blushed and stopped. "A-anyway, I believe we should all go to sleep now."

"Got it." Akihiko said as he got up the stairs. "Good night." Yukari said as she held Morgana.

"Wait, Takeba." Mitsuru stopped Yukari. Yukari turned back and faced Mitsuru, who was looking down and fidgeting with her fingers.

"c-Can I keep the talking cat for the night?" Mitsuru said. "Um...yeah, sure. I'm pretty sure Ren wouldn't mind." Yukari said, but she didn't have 100% sincerity behind her words.

"Thank you." Mitsuru said as she held Morgana. Mitsuru stared into Morgana's eyes, and Morgana was in fear of her cold stare. Mitsuru felt Morgana shivering, and noticed her stare.

"I'm sorry..." Mitsuru said. Morgana stopped and sighed. "No, it's alright, I've seen worse." Morgana said as he remembered the time when a lady on the subway noticed him in the bag and gave him a dry-ice level of a cold stare.

Mitsuru nodded and put a hand to her face, as she couldn't believe what she was doing right now. She was talking to a cat. A cat that could talk.

But she shook off that thought and decided to continue up her room. She petted Morgana at the same time, and Morgana was purring in happiness.

Mitsuru giggled like a little girl, and it was possibly her first time in many years. Morgana was already sleeping in Mitsuru's arms.

* * *

The morning sun shined, and everyone at the dorm was fatigued.

Ren and Mika woke up early, both at the same time. Ren was preparing some curry, whereas Mika was arranging the dishes.

"Hey, don't forget Morgana's!" Ren said as he stirred the curry. Mika nodded and prepared a small plate for Morgana.

"But what's Morgana going to eat?" Mika asked. Ren stopped his stirring and went deep into thought.

"...Curry." Ren said. Mika looked at Ren like he just said something inhuman.

"Curry? Wouldn't that kill him?" Mika said as she finished preparing the last plate. Ren shook his head.

"No, he even ate onion once, and he's still alive and kicking." Ren said as he turned off the gas on the stove.

Mika put a hand on her chin and got deep in thought. "So he's a cat that can eat human food...so he's got a look that's just a like cat, but acts like a human?!" Mika said.

Ren sighed. "...I actually don't know. I haven't thought about these kinds of things in too much depth." Ren said as he opened the pressure cooker, and poured out a fair amount of rice for 4 people and Morgana.

After organizing the plates, Mika sank into one of the chairs in front of the table and stared at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" Ren asked as he now began pouring the curry to the plate. Mika continued to look up at the ceiling and thought about last night.

 _ **"I want you to keep me safe always! Got it?!"**_

The words flowed through Mika's head, and Mika blushed at the thought of this. _"God, why did I even say that? I'm so stupid!"_ Mika thought to herself.

"What now?" Ren said as he was next to Mika, and was putting down a plate of curry-rice next to her. Mika's chair nearly fell behind because she was so surprised.

"w-Woah, Woah!" Mika said as her chair began to wobble. The chair gained a great amount of shock from just now, and the legs of the chair began weakening.

Her chair started to fall behind, and Ren noticed this. "h-Hey!" Ren said as he immediately grabbed Mika's arms, but couldn't hold up her entire weight.

Ren completely fell on her chest, and Mika closed her eyes in pain, along with Ren. But when they both opened their eyes, their eyes met, and their lips were a few inches away from each other.

Mika reddened up, and Ren just stared in blankness. "You okay?" Ren said. Mika slowly nodded, and Ren smiled.

"I guess I saved you. Isn't this what you said last night? That you wanted me to protect you at all costs or something?" Ren said as he slowly stood back up.

Mika remained to lie down on the floor and covered her face to hide her blush. Ren looked at her and snickered.

"What? Are you falling for me now?" Ren said as he prepared everyone else's plates. Mika stood up and frowned at him.

"O-of course not! Why would I...fall for...a guy like you!" Mika said hesitantly. Ren snickered one more time, and Mika got back in her seat.

"Morning," Ren said to Mitsuru, who came down with Morgana in her arms. Mitsuru put down Morgana down on one of the seats, and Mitsuru observed the curry rice.

"This is...very high-quality curry rice. Did you cook this Amamiya?" Mitsuru asked Ren. Ren nodded in agreement. "Yep. My own special recipe." Ren said, but it was pretty obvious to Morgana that he clearly got it from Sojiro.

Soon Yukari and Akihiko followed down the stairs. Akihiko sniffed around and noticed the curry-rice on the table. "Nice...You got eggs?" Akihiko asked Ren. Ren looked at Akihiko in a bit of confusion. "Huh?" Ren said.

"Eggs...Protein, Ren! I need protein!" Akihiko said as he ran towards the fridge and brought out a container with boiled eggs inside.

"Uh...you might want to-" Ren was about to warn Akihiko that the eggs were rotten, but Akihiko threw it onto his curry before Ren could even say anything.

"Leave him, Ren. He'll find out eventually..." Yukari said as she began nibbling on her rice. Morgana also began chowing down the curry rice too. REn looked at the dorm mates with a huge dad smile.

"Whatchu doin? You should eat too before I eat yours." Mika said as she began scraping the final bits of the curry rice. Ren nodded and sat down.

"So, how's school treating you?" Akihiko asked as he finished up his last egg. Ren looked in shock initially, because Akihiko ate those eggs, then went back to his normal face, and answered.

"It's alright. Although Ekoda's been a bit of a pain." Ren said as he shoved his spoon into the curry. Mitsuru sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I agree, but I still am not able to find any dirt on Ekoda." Mitsuru said. Yukari groaned. "You know...I heard he's going around harassing girls also..." Yukari said.

"I'm not surprised. An idiot like him would do anything to give pleasure to himself." Mika said as she picked up her plates and brought it to the sink. Everyone seemed to have finished their meal by now, and since they were all in their school uniform, the group left after they cleaned up the dishes.

* * *

"I'm going to head out first because of Student Council meeting. Be safe out there." Mitsuru said. Akihiko also came running out of the train. "Heard there's a problem in the Boxing Club! Gotta go check! Sorry guys!" Akihiko said.

Ren, Mika, and Yukari were left standing on the platform of the train. They all sighed in unison and left the platform.

"The seniors are always busy with something, aren't they?" Yukari said as she stretched her arms through the bright morning sun.

Mika nodded. "Yeah, but at least they have a reason for it." Mika said. Ren nodded in agreement.

The trio soon got to their classrooms in no time, and Ren noticed something was a bit off.

Junpei was gone. He would usually joke about how he hated school and wants to skip it, but this is the first time Ren actually saw Junpei not in the classroom at morning.

"Psst. Mika. Have you seen Junpei?" Ren asked Mika as he whispered. Mika shook her head. "No. Why?"

"He's not here. It feels a bit weird for some reason." Ren said as he turned his head over to the front, to check if is watching them or not.

"I heard there's a new recruit for the group. But this isn't confirmed yet. Heard he's in the hospital recovering from the damage he got from the shadows." Mika said. Ren stopped for a second to process the thought.

"Wait...so Junpei has a persona?!" Ren said, a bit too loudly.

"Ren Amamiya! Please stop staring at your girlfriend!" scoulded. The entire classroom burst into laughter.

"Grr..." Ren said as he sank into his seat in defeat. Mika smiled, as she didn't exactly hate the fact that she was being called his girlfriend-

"Wait, what am I thinking?! This is wrong! I'm not his girlfriend!" Mika said to herself quietly as she constantly slapped herself in the face. Ren stared with worry.

"Uh...you okay?" Ren asked. Mika shook in her chair in surprise. "What?! Yeah! I'm totally fine!" Mika said with an expression that scared Ren a bit.

"O...kay." Ren said as he turned his head back to . Mika stole a glance over to Ren a bit and blushed a little.

 _"What...is this? Why am I feeling like this?!"_ Mika thought to herself, as she tried to shake it off, but she just couldn't. She wasn't used to this feeling, and her heart was beating faster then she can count them. She constantly looked over at Ren and looked at the side of his head.

She continued staring at him, as he wrote down his notes, swiped his hair, or bit on his pencil. Her heart pounded like mad when he bit on his pencil.

Her heart continued to pound until her breath began getting short, and she was breathing in and out constantly.

Then time passed like flowing water and the bell rang.

Mika stood up in her chair due to the surprise. She was zoned out to Ren for the whole time, and the entire class stared at Mika, who was still beet red. Even looked in confusion.

"So, um, would you like to call the class off for today?" said as she began cleaning up her papers. Mika slowly nodded.

"Class dismissed!" Mika shouted, and ran outside the classroom.

Ren already knew something was up, so he stood up and decided to follow her.

Yukari stared at all of this and decided to follow without Ren knowing.

* * *

Mika splashed water all over her face and breathed in hard. "Hah...Hah..." Mika struggled as she continued to unblock her throat.

Mika slammed her hand onto the sink, and grasped the handle of the water tap so hard, it bent the water tap a little. She constantly coughed and her throat still remained blocked.

"So, asthma, huh?" A voice said behind her. Mika turned around, and Ren was standing outside of the bathroom.

"..." Mika turned around and didn't face Ren. Ren sighed and entered the bathroom.

"...Are you crazy-Mmpf!" Ren put his hand on Mika's mouth, and brought her into one of the stalls, as he realized someone was behind them.

"..." Mika was silent, and she closed her eyes and leaned onto Ren's chest. Ren felt Mika's hair and looked down.

"Geez, give me a break." Ren said. Mika glared at Ren, with her mouth still shut by Ren. Ren sighed quietly and decided to stroke her hair like a pet cat.

All of a sudden, Mika's throat was unblocked. Mika gasped for air, and Ren lifted his hand in surprise.

"...How did you do that?" Mika asked Ren urgently. Ren titled his head in confusion. "Do what?" Ren said.

"Your hand...fixed my asthma. How did you do it?" Mika said as she leaned in closer to Ren. Ren shook his head and still looked confused.

"I didn't do anything. I just patted your head a bit." Ren said. Mika rubbed her chin and checked if anyone is still outside by looking through a small space in the bathroom stall.

...No one was in the bathroom except for Ren and Mika.

"Alright, don't freak out..." Mika said as she opened Ren's school jacket. Ren flinched in shock and grabbed both of Mika's wrists.

"W-what are you doing?!" Ren said. Mika looked up at Ren in disappointment.

"I was checking if our physical contact is healing a part of my injury. But in order to do it most efficiently, I had to...um..." Mika was hesitant to continue speaking.

"You had to feel my chest?" Ren finsihed the sentence for Mika. Mika snapped her fingers and nodded. "E-exactly!" Mika said as she continued to tear through Ren's shirt now.

"Woah, woah!" Ren collapsed onto the seat of the bathroom, and Mika felt his chest. A great amount of warmth filled her body, and she could feel herself blushing in positivity.

But to Ren, it just looked like she was pleasuring herself with Ren's chest. Ren sighed and stood up. Mika crashed into the wall of the stall, and Ren fixed his uniform as much as possible, as some buttons were broken.

"Geez, I didn't break it THAT hard..." Mika said as she puffed her cheeks. Ren glared at her and Mika flinched.

"You broke 3. 3 BUTTONS." Ren said as he put up 3 fingers on his hands, and then proceeded to fix his shirt. Meanwhile, Mika decided to sum up what she just experienced.

 _"So physically touching Ren somewhere makes me healed, but does it work on anyone else?"_ Mika thought to herself. Ren tapped on Mika's shoulders, and made a hand gesture for them to get out of the bathroom now.

Mika nodded, and opened the door to the stall. Out there was Yukari and Fuuka washing their hands and chatting. They soon saw Mika and Ren through the reflection, and both of them gasped.

"M-Mika-chan?!" Fuuka said as she covered her mouth with both of her hands. Yukari didn't do that, but instead looked equally as shocked.

Ren's shirt was partially broken, missing a few buttons. Mika's hair was a bit everywhere, which can only mean one thing to them.

"D-did you-"

"NO WE DIDN'T!" Mika cut off Fuuka and ran outside, as she grabbed Ren's wrists.

Yukari and Fuuka looked at each other in confusion. "I was only going to ask Mika-chan if she was assigned the bathroom cleaning duty with Ren-kun..."

"..." Yukari looked at Fuuka at disbelief. "That was not what you were thinking."

Fuuka looked at Yukari like she saw a monster just now, and shook her head. "No, it was definitely what I was thinking! Haha!" Fuuka laughed unnaturally. Yukari sighed.

"Come on, let's go before we find anything else weird in this bathroom." Yukari said towards Fuuka. Fuuka nodded aggressively, and the two girls soon stepped outside the bathroom.

* * *

Anddddddd that's the chapter. Hope you guys liked it. I've been keeping you guys waiting for such as long time, and I'd like to thank you all for your patience. Hopefully, I can start posting weekly again.

Mika finally shows her soft side, so is she bipolar? We don't know. Mika's aunt is a pharmacist, and Mika also has asthma. A connection? We don't know.

Is Mika in love with Ren, and would Ren love her back?

...We don't know. Yet.

Now to the questions in the review section.

smack77721 :Since the beginning of April and continuing these days, I have suffered depression and been tired of living. but reading your fanfic has helped me to give my encouragement, I thank you. luck in your tests and dissertations and have a great day

A: Wow... I hope you get better dude. And I'm glad my fanfic helped you get encouragement. I'm not that good with making people laugh, but if it makes you entertained, then I've done my job. Thanks for the support as always.

And as always, remember to leave a review, a favorite and a follow.

This was Edwards, signing off.


	6. Pros:Cons

Updated some mistakes.

* * *

The school bell rang, which meant a lot of different things for each of the students in the classroom.

Some would be happy, as it is Friday and they get to go home, but some would be sad, as they needed to stay back for a cleaning duty or an afterschool club activity.

Ren and Mika were the second ones. Mitsuru forced them to join the Swim team, and this was their first session. They weren't going to join the actual team yet, because they needed to get tested.

Mika yawned as she put her bag on her shoulders. She was also listening to some music as she walked. Ren was just walking along next to her and trying not to look at the people around them, as he was afraid they might get the wrong idea.

"So...You ever swam before?" Mika asked as she put a hand in her pocket. Ren titled his head in conflict. "Yes and no. I'm not an experienced swimmer, but I don't drown in water." Ren said.

Mika nodded. "Same here. I don't drown, but I probably can't save a person if someone was drowning 20 meters away from shore." Mika said. "That's...an unusually accurate analogy." Ren said.

Mika giggled. "Well, I do like to be specific in my words at all times." Mika said as she looked in front, and noticed it was the door to the recreational part of the school.

Ren got to it first and opened it, until he stopped midway. Mika looked at Ren in confusion. "What? Is there a giant rat in front of the door?" Mika said. Ren shook his head and silently pointed towards the narrow space between the door and the outside.

It was Fuuka, and she was getting bullied by those girls again. Mika widened her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Why...those sons of bitches...!" Mika said as she was about to kick the door open, but Ren grabbed her shoulders and shook his head.

"Let's keep watching." Ren said as he took out his phone. "And get some evidence while we're at it." Ren said as he got to the camera app on his phone. Mika nodded in agreement.

"Yeah...and we'll finally put those chicks in hot water once and for all." Mika said as she stared at the girls with flame in her eyes. Ren looked at her and got into a deep thought.

 _"...I wonder how she became so fond of Fuuka."_ Ren thought in his head. Mika tapped Ren in the shoulders and pointed towards the scene of the crime.

"Yo! Eyes on the price!" Mika whispered to Ren, as the three girls were leaning in onto Fuuka now. Ren nodded and put his camera in video mode.

"Wait. I have a better plan." Ren said as he gave Mika his phone. "Keep recording until I get back, alright?" Ren said as he disappeared into the hallways of the school.

Mika slowly nodded and began recording the scene.

* * *

"So, Fuuka here doesn't want to cooperate with us. What do you think, girls? What WILL get her to cooperate?" The girl in the center said. She was the same girl that was bullying Fuuka last time Ren busted her abusing Fuuka.

One of the girls grinned, which Fuuka flinched in response. The girl in the center smiled and looked at the third girl. The third girl nodded in response.

Suddenly, the two grabbed Fuuka by the arms and the other girl shoved her hand into her skirt pockets and brought out a pocket knife.

"No...Anything but that!" Fuuka yelped in fear. The girl in the center used one other hand to bring out a duct tape she brought out and threw it to the girl with the knife.

The girl with the knife then put her knife aside (for now), and used the duct tape to seal Fuuka's mouth, and then her legs, then her arms.

The two girls let go of her because Fuuka was already helpless with all the tapes on her body that was keeping her from running away or yelling. The girls surrounded her, and all of them began giggling simultaneously.

One of the girls finally took out her pocket knife, and the other girl took out her phone camera. "Heard you're pretty close with that new frizzly haired guy...Let's give him a nice treat." The girl with the knife said as she put the sharp end of the knife to her school uniform's top, and moved it down slowly down to her chest.

Fuuka shook her head violently in denial, and even tears began rolling down her eyes. One of the other girls who were idle grabbed Fuuka by her cheeks and slapped her hard in the face.

"Shut up or we'll strip you completely." The girl warned Fuuka. Fuuka went back to being calm right after they said that, but still continued to cry.

The girl with the knife was finished making her way down with her knife, and Fuuka's top was ruined, and her bare skin was exposed. Fuuka was looking away from the girls, as tears dropped from her eyes.

"Wow...Fuuka had quite a larger rack then I expected! I guess all that studying goes somewhere at least." The girls all laughed, and the girl with the phone was about to give the final blow by taking a photo of her naked chest.

"Say cheese~" The girl said until she heard a creak behind her.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice said from the back. The three girls turned around, and the girls each dropped their knife and their phones.

It was Ms. Toriumi, and she was looking determined. Mika and Ren stood next to her, and Mika was smiling.

"y-You...!" One of the girls said. Ren smiled. "Miss me?" Ren said as he stepped closer to the girls. Fuuka was still bounded in tape, and her chest was still exposed behind them.

"I have nothing else to say, other than that I'll see in in the office tomorrow. You can't escape from this, Mika even has video evidence." Ms. Toriumi said with her arms crossed. The three girls stepped backward in panic, and all of them ran off in a speed of light.

"Are we just going to let them go?!" Mika said as she pointed towards them. Ren nodded. "It's not like they have anywhere else to go other than school tomorrow. Either way, it's going to benefit us only." Ren said. Ms. Toriumi nodded in agreement.

"Make sure to keep the recording safe. This is the only evidence we have and it's crucial." Ms. Toriumi said. Mika noticed Fuuka was still on the floor, and immediately got to her.

Fuuka's eyes were red from the tears, and Mika sighed in deep regret. "If only I got here earlier..." Mika said as she began untying the tape from Fuuka.

"Hey, can you help me with this?" Mika said towards Ren. Ren nodded and began untying the tape on her leg. Ms. Toriumi untied the tape on Fuuka's hands.

After Fuuka was free, the three people looked at Fuuka in worry. "Are you okay?" Mika asked. Fuuka slowly picked her head up and revealed her tear filled and red face.

"MIKA-CHAN!" Fuuka shouted as she dug her head into Mika's chest. Mika was surprised initially, but the surprised look turned into a warm smile soon, as Mika was glad that Fuuka was safe.

But Ms. Toriumi was a bit worried, because Fuuka's school uniform top was torn apart, and her chest was completely exposed at this point. As Fuuka slowly let go of Mika, she noticed this and covered her chest with both her arms.

Mika laughed. "Don't worry, none of us are going to take advantage of the situation. Not even Ren!" Mika said with a bright expression. Ren groaned. "You sure know how to make a person look bad..." Ren said as he sighed.

Ren took off his school jacket and put it on Fuuka. Fuuka looked at Ren in shock. "But...this is yours..." Fuuka said. Ren snickered. "Yeah, I'm giving this to you because this is mine, and you need it. I'm not going to let a girl like to walk around with her breasts exposed." Ren said. Mika smacked Ren in the back of his head.

"That's not how you talk to a girl!" Mika said with a serious expression. Ren scratched and tilted his head in confusion. "But you don't say anything when I talk to YOU like this!"

"Yeah, its because Fuuka's name isn't Mika." Mika said. Ms. Toriumi giggled at this scenery. "You guys are quite the couple." She said as she put a hand over her mouth.

Mika turned red all of a sudden after she said that. "T-thank you." Mika said with her voice down. The group stood up, and all of them dusted their shirt and pants.

"Well, didn't you have to get somewhere just now?" Ms. Toriumi asked. "It said on the student schedule that you two had to go to a swim team today..."

Mika and Ren both stopped and looked at each other in shock. "Um...Ms. Toriumi, can you please bring Fuuka to her home?" Ren asked as he began to take a step back slowly, one by one.

Ms. Toriumi nodded. "With pleasure. Let's go Fuuka." Ms. Toriumi said as Fuuka covered her top with Ren's jacket.

"Thank you~!" Ren said as him and Mika began fading away into the distance, near the Physical Activities sector.

Ms. Toriumi and Fuuka stood there and waved.

* * *

Ms. Toriumi and Fuuka walked down the streets as the sun was going down. The sky was pure orange, and the yellow sun was hovering over the horizon.

Ms. Toriumi looked at Fuuka with worry. "You're in Ekoda's class, right?" Ms. Toriumi asked. Fuuka nodded.

"Hah...Talk about bad luck..." Ms. Toriumi said as she sighed. Fuuka walked and looked down in grief.

"He's got quite a reputation at school, for treating kids so badly. Especially the ones in my homeroom for some reason." Ms. Toriumi said. Fuuka opened her mouth to say something until she closed it back.

"What is it?" Ms. Toriumi said as she stopped in front of Fuuka. Fuuka didn't respond and looked away from Ms. Toriumi. Ms. Toriumi sighed and looked around where they were.

The place was near the port, and Ms. Toriumi sat down at the bench nearby. Ms. Toriumi tapped the seat next to her, indicating Fuuka to seat down next to her. Fuuka slowly but surely went near her and sat down.

"So, let me take a wild guess. Ekoda is doing something with those three girls?" Ms. Toriumi said. Fuuka shook a little in response. Ms. Toriumi smiled, as she realized her that meant her guess was correct.

"Knew it. Now, you have nothing else to hide. You're talking to a teacher here, and that teacher is on your side. It can't get any better." Ms. Toriumi said. Fuuka picked her head up and looked at Ms. Toriumi.

Fuuka was crying again, but it looked like it was a sign of distress to Ms. Toriumi. "Aw...It's alright. Come here." Ms. Toriumi said as she stretched her arms at Fuuka, and Fuuka sank her head into Ms. Toriumi's chest, just like how she did with Mika just now.

Ms. Toriumi stroked her hair slowly and Fuuka looked up at Ms. Toriumi. "Now, will you tell me everything you know?" Ms. Toriumi asked. Fuuka nodded with determination in her eyes.

"Someday...I'll get Ekoda for what he's done to everyone..." Fuuka mumbled. Ms. Toriumi giggled. "Can't say no to that."

* * *

Mika and Ren crashed into the swimming pool, and there were two people in there, one boy and one girl. They were both in their school swimsuits, each with a clipboard in their hand.

And they looked pissed. VERY pissed. The pencil the boy had in his hands had bite marks all over the end of it, and the girl was downright glaring at Mika.

"So being with one of the most good-looking boys in school gets you to be late, huh?" The girl said aggressively. Mika flinched and shook her head in denial.

"N-no! It's not like that! You can ask Ms. Toriumi tomorrow if you want to know the truth!" Mika said. Ren took a step forward and grabbed Mika's shoulders. Her shoulders were exposed, as they were all wearing their school swimsuit.

"She's right, we weren't slacking off or anything. Plus, we wouldn't be late on purpose, because Mitsuru-senpai signed us up, and ditching this would be suicide." Ren said as he continued to lay his hands on Mika's shoulders, and Mika was reddening up again.

"I can...feel his warmth..." Mika said to herself, as the heat was coming from Ren's hands, and Mika soon dropped her head to avoid anyone from looking at her red face once again.

"Fine. If you're going to try out, then you better be worth my time." The boy said. "Now get in there and warm up. I'm going to take the frizzy hair, and she's going to take the beige hair." The boy said. Ren nodded, and let go of Mika's shoulder.

Mika gasped for breath soon after, and Ren took a step back in a bit of a surprise. "Are you okay?!" Ren said as he picked up Mika's chin. Fortunately, Mika's face went back to normal just in time for Ren to not notice Mika's blush.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Now time to destroy you in swimming!" Mika said as she threw her fist in the air with energy. Ren snickered. "We'll see about that." Ren said as he walked towards the pool. Mika followed him from the back.

The two swim team captain stared back at Mika and Ren, and both of them sighed with the same thought in mind.

 _"Why can't I get a person like that in my life..."_ The boy and the girl said as they began writing down in their clipboards.

* * *

"So, this is your house?" Ms. Toriumi said as she and Fuuka stood in front of a mid-sized apartment near the port. Fuuka nodded.

"Yes, and you can find the train station if you take the street over there." Fuuka said as she pointed to a street that leads to the main street which had the train station across the road.

But Ms. Toriumi stopped and looked at Fuuka straight in the eye. "If anything else happens, you know who to call, right?" Ms. Toriumi said. Fuuka nodded. "I'll remember to call you as soon as possible."

"Good! After hours of training, you finally managed to learn the most important lesson: Call for help if you're in trouble." Ms. Toriumi said as she pointed a finger at Fuuka.

Fuuka nodded with a warm smile. "I sometimes wish to be a teacher like you someday...Brave, and caring for other students who are weak..." Fuuka said. But her smile slowly faded away, replacing it with fear.

Ms. Toriumi obviously noticed and smiled. She then pressed both of her hands flat onto both of Fuuka's cheeks and laughed. "Look! You're a pufferfish!"

Fuuka didn't know how to respond to this moment, and she laughed along with Ms. Toriumi. But her awkward laugh magically turned into an actual laugh, and Fuuka was feeling a surge of positive energy in her body and mind.

Ms. Toriumi wiped her tears and spoke. "Sometimes it's better to forget about the things you fear and hate. Cause it's not like they're going to follow you until you die, you know?" Ms. Toriumi said. "Now, you better go in before your parents call."

"Yes. Thank you, Ms. Toriumi!" Fuuka said as she bowed. Ms. Toriumi shook her head. "It's fine. Just remember to come see me tomorrow, alright?" Ms. Toriumi said.

Fuuka nodded with a smile and entered her apartment block. Ms. Toriumi waved as Fuuka went to the elevator, and Ms. Toriumi watched her enter.

Ms. Toriumi stood still in that one place as the streetlights began turning on now. She snickered at herself for becoming so close to a student.

"Maybe...just maybe. She can help me back someday." Ms. Toriumi said as she picked into her pockets, and popped open her flask that was filled with alcohol.

She walked back slowly under the streetlights near the port and continued drinking away her sadness.

* * *

Mika and Ren gasped for air after a 30-minute swim that lasted without a single minute of rest. The two captain was speechless, as the records surpassed even theirs, and possibly even the school record.

"I-I touched the end first! You know swimming is a sport that splits its winners even by milliseconds, right?" Ren complained as Mika was showing off her victory even without any official results.

"Pfft, yeah right. You might catch up to me, but you were clearly a second later than me." Mika said. Ren groaned in irritation and turned to the team captain that was the girl.

"Hey, can you please tell me what the time was between Mika and I?" Ren said. The girl reddened up because of Ren's warm voice and covered her face with the clipboard to hide her face, and to check the time they both got.

"Z-zero point two seconds difference! R-ren wins!" The girl said as she grabbed Ren's wrists and lifted it into the air, while her face was still red. Ren gave a huge shout and stuck out a tongue at Mika.

"Yeah, yeah. Enjoy it while you can." Mika said as she got out of the pool, and noticed the boy was staring at her as she escaped the water. Mika looked at the boy in disgust as if she just chewed on a piece of cardboard paper.

"What are you staring at? Get lost!" Mika said as she was clearly irritated by the loss. She made her way to the locker rooms, and Ren also noticed her rage. Ren said "thanks" to both of the captains, and made his way out of the pool, and then to the locker rooms.

* * *

Ren changed as quickly as possible and ran outside to the girl's locker room. He looked around the place, and Mika was nowhere to be seen. He checked under the bench outside of the girl's locker room, behind the dispenser, and everywhere he can put his eyes on.

He felt more tired than when he was swimming and collapsed to the floor. "God...where even is she?" Ren said as he looked down, and saw small drops of sweat on the floor.

Then a footstep was heard behind, and then a disappointing sigh. Ren turned around, and it was no other than Mika, who was also sweating like Ren.

"Geez, you know how much I looked around for you?! I even went into the boy's locker room to search for you!" Mika said as she collapsed next where Ren was sitting down.

"So...why were you looking for me?" Ren asked. Mika looked at Ren like as if he just said something a human shouldn't say.

"Because...I was sorry." Mika said quietly. "I tried to bail out on you because I was being too competitive." Mika said as she bit her fingers a little.

Ren looked at Mika and smirked. He then suddenly hugged her and his force even made Mika collapse onto the floor of the hallway.

"H-HEY! THIS WASN'T-" Ren put a finger on her mouth and smiled. "It's alright. I know you want this." Ren said.

Mika looked a bit conflicted initially but soon accepted defeat and let Ren embrace her. The warmth once again filled her body as Ren was touching her, and Mika could only smile at this feeling of welcoming warmth.

Ren was about to let go, but Mika grabbed his arms before he loosened his grip on Mika. "Just...a few more seconds." Mika said as she was red all over her face now. Ren was also, but he looked red because he was looking tired.

Mika noticed this and flinched. "Wait...am I feeling the warmth from Ren because he's giving me HIS energy?" Mika said. Mika immediately let go of him when she realized that fact.

"What's wrong?" Ren said as he huffed a little. Mika nodded and she believed her claim was correct.

"I don't know why, but it seems like the physical touch on me will take away the energy of the person touching me...so that's why you looked a bit exhausted when you were hugging me..." Mika said. Ren rubbed his chin a little.

"...Would it work for anyone else? Or maybe even shadows?" Ren said. "We haven't tried, but we can ask Mitsuru-senpai about this."

Mika nodded in agreement. She stood up with determination, but then the atmosphere broke when her stomach rumbled.

"...You wanna go have a bite?" Ren asked. Mika nodded. "I haven't eaten a single thing in lunch. I'm hungry as hell." Mika said. Ren checked his wallet, and he was glad they were going to Tartarus today because he is running flat on cash.

"Wait..." Mika said. Ren stopped in his tracks and looked at Mika in confusion. "What is it?"

"...Where's Morgana?" Mika asked. Ren noticed and froze. He searched his bag, and he wasn't there.

"..." Both of them stood in silence until the afternoon bell that signaled all students to leave campus rang, and Mika and Ren fast-paced outside the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fuuka was studying for her math quiz tomorrow. She was smart, but that didn't mean she can slack off, especially because of her parents.

It was almost 10, and she could technically go to sleep right now because she already knows everything about tomorrow's test, but she had to make it look like she's studying hard to her parents, because if not, then they'll beat her again.

The lights were turned off in the room, and the only light in the room was the lamp on top of Fuuka's study table. She had textbooks lined across in front of her in a nice pile, and all of them were organized in an almost perfectly straight line.

Fuuka's mechanical pencil lead broke, and Fuuka sighed. _"I can't keep doing it like this..."_ Fuuka thought to herself. She started studying ever since she arrived back home, and her parents told her to study till midnight, which she had to.

Until suddenly, she heard a rustle behind her. Fuuka quickly spun back around with her chair, but nothing was there except for her bed, a shelf full of books, and her school bag.

Fuuka stared for another good 2 minutes until she slowly rotated back to her table. "Definite Integration...if the differentiated function 3 results in 5, then find-"

*Rustle rustle*

Fuuka turned around godspeed, but once again nothing was there. Fuuka was beginning to feel paranoid. "I-It's just a wind from the fan. That's all." Fuuka reassured herself.

"Now, the velocity equation was-"

*CRACK!"

Fuuka jumped from her chair and widened her eyes. Nothing suspicious came to her view until her bag tipped over to the floor. Fuuka stared at her bag with her breath stopped for a bit and observed the bag. She walked closer to it until something miraculous happened to the bag.

A thing jutted out from the bag and came back in again. Fuuka grabbed her math textbook and lifted it in the air, ready to smash the bag with whatever's inside.

"Ahhh..." A voice said. Fuuka looked around for the fourth time with the textbook still in both of her hands, and no one was here. She checked below, and the bag was moving on the floor on its own.

"W-WHO ARE YOU?!" Fuuka screamed, as her expression looked like she was about to cry.

"Um...Can you get me out of here please?" The thing said inside Fuuka's bag. Fuuka carefully held the textbook with one hand, and her other hand went to the zipper to the bag.

She slowly unzipped the bag, until a cat's head popped out. Fuuka yelped in surprise and landed on her butt.

"W-wait, who are you?!" The cat said. Fuuka had so many questions right now, but her mind was fogging up, and soon her eyes rolled, and she was out cold, as her head slammed the floor with her eyes filled with blank whiteness.

"Hey! Hey!" Morgana said as he forcefully tried to escape, but his head only made it out of the bag. Morgana groaned and used his sharp cat nails to tear through the bag.

Morgana went to Fuuka and checked for her pulse. She was still alive, and thankfully the impact on her head wasn't too bad. Morgana carefully made her close her eyes as smoothly as possible.

But the main problem was that Morgana was now stuck in a room of a person he doesn't know about, and never met before. He didn't know how far he was from the dorms, or where this place even is.

But Morgana showed no signs of worry, and got to a nearby bed and slept like nothing just happened.

"But..." Morgana said as he stood back up and nabbed a blanket and covered Fuuka with the blanket.

Now all Morgana could do was to wait until the morning.

* * *

Well, I don't know why, but I somehow wrote 4000 words under two days. I hope you guys are fine with that. If you don't like the quality of this, I'll gladly write it again. Just remind me in the review section. I do believe this chapter is going to have some flaws because it was written in such as short period of time.


	7. Re:turn

Ren and Mika made a careful way back to the dorm, as Ren was still a bit shaken the fact that he couldn't find Morgana. Ren bit his fingers constantly as he was walking here.

"Hey come on...he has a persona too, right? So there's no way he would be hurt!" Mika said as she forced a smile. But Ren couldn't help but think something would happen to him, because last time he went out alone, he almost got killed by shadows. But thankfully he was saved by Haru during that time.

"...But does he have anyone by his side right now?" Ren mumbled too himself as his nails were now getting sharp thanks to his bites. Mika looked at him and now realized that this is no laughing matter because Ren cared about Morgana that much.

Mika put both of her hands on Ren's shoulders and started massaging him. Ren felt her hands rubbing his shoulders, and sighed. "Thanks, I really needed that..." Ren said in a sincere tone. Mika smiled.

"Yeah, gotta help out my big bro somehow, shouldn't I?" Mika said. Ren thought about what she just said and chuckled. _"Big bro...does_ n't _sound that bad."_ Ren thought to himself, as the duo continued walking through the night streets of Tatsumi Port Island. Mika continued to rub Ren's shoulders and noticed something.

 _"The energy flow...its not getting inside of him?"_ Mika thought to herself. "So the energy can be given to me, but not out? How does this even work?" Mika said as she looked down a little.

"You alright?" Ren asked as he looked back. Mika picked her head up and nodded. "Yep. All cool." Mika said as she squeezed on Ren's shoulders in a bit of an inappropriate way that creeped out Ren.

"O-one more time and I break your hands." Ren said. Mika held her self back and put out her tongue. "Enjoy it while you can. Heh." Mika said as she continued rubbing his shoulders.

But then, Ren realized something and turned around to Mika."Hey, but do you know what time it is right now?" Ren asked. Mika, instead of answering, gave a puzzled look.

"Hm...what if we ask a person nearby? Hey excuse me, do you know-" Mika was about to ask the person that was coincidentally walking next to her, a tall man with a beanie on his head. But then, the Dark Hour occurred.

Everything turned into green, and blood splatters covered some of the walls. The people around them turned into coffins, except for the tall beanied man in front of Mika.

The man slowly turned around and frowned. "Jesus...what the hell are you kids doing out here at this time?" The man said as he scratched his head. "Get lost before you get hurt." The man said. Mika looked at him in an annoyed way and got closer to him.

But Ren grabbed Mika by her arms and stopped her from getting anywhere close to him. "He doesn't look like the type you would want to mess with." Ren whispered to her. The man noticed and snickered. "At least your buddy here knows what's up. Now go home, before you really get hurt." The man said.

The two began slowly walking away from him, and Mika groaned. "God, what do we tell Mitsuru-senpai? She's probably expecting us to be prepared to go to Tartarus." Mika said as she played around with her hair.

The man stopped in his tracks and looked behind when he heard Mitsuru's name. He then got close to the two and leaned into the conversation. "You guys are one of Mitsuru's soldiers?" The man said. The two flinched in surprise, as they didn't expect him to be behind them.

"Uh...yeah. You know her?" Mika asked. The man chuckled and walked away like nothing happened. "...Good luck being her goddamn slave." The man said as he walked away.

"What the hell does he even mean by that?" Mika said as she scratched her head. Ren stared at the tall figure slowly fading away into the distance and cringed.

"He's hiding something...for sure." Ren said. Mika looked at him in surprise. "What would it even be anyway?" Mika said.

"He knows Mitsuru, and considering he didn't turn into a coffin during the Dark Hour, he has potential. Hell, maybe even a Persona ." Ren said. Mika looked in deep thought and picked her head up when she realized something.

"Maybe...he used to be in SEES, just like us." Mika said as she looked into Ren's conflicted expression, which soon turned brighter after what Mika just said. "Maybe...but we can't turn to a conclusion without definitive evidence."

"Look, I really like how were untangling this, but I feel like our number one priority is getting back to the dorm." Mika said as she looked around, and made sure there weren't any mad persona users that would try to attack them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Plus, we already caused enough trouble-"

*BANG!*

The sound crossed both Ren and Mika's ears like lightning, and they both instinctively crouched down under a nearby bench. A few seconds after, another gunshot was heard, and they were both lying under the bench at this point.

Ren thought in his mind of how far the gunshots were, and he concluded that it was roughly 50 meters away. But regardless, they still remained under the bench.

"...Fuck." Ren mumbled as he realized the situation he was in. Electronics didn't work during the Dark Hour, so he couldn't call anyone, and he didn't have any weapons on him, neither did Mika have her Evoker right now.

"This is going to get worse if we don't do anything..." Mika whispered to Ren. Ren nodded to her, and he made up his mind.

"I'm going out." Ren said. Mika looked at him in disbelief and grabbed his wrists. "No your not. I'm not going to let you get hurt like a few weeks ago." Mika said as she recalled to the time when Ren got slammed by that huge shadow on the roof of the dorm.

"Well, bite me." Ren said as he escaped from her grip, and crawled out of the bench. Mika groaned and followed.

"What the hell are you doing? You don't even have your Evoker." Ren said. Mika shrugged. "Well, I still have my passive attack. And I'm pretty sure that's powerful enough to support you, don't you think?"

Ren remembered the time when Mika spammed her fire attacks in Tartarus and nodded in agreement. "Alright, but follow everything I tell you right now, alright?" Ren said. Mika nodded, and they both spoke as quietly as possible.

* * *

Ren slowly walked towards the source of the gunshot, and from far away, he saw three people. He couldn't see their descriptions yet because of the distance. As the distance between them grew smaller, the group of people noticed.

"Ah. Another lost boy." The shirtless man said. Behind him were women with a long red hair with white ribbons, and wore a long white gothic dress. The person next to her had a short dark blue hair and wore a green jacket with black straps and navy blue pants.

"Quite the fashionable crowd we got here. So, what are you guys doing out here late at night?" Ren joked. The shirtless man snickered. "I see. You're the first person to not get panicked by our visuals. Tell me, are you...a persona user?" The shirtless man said.

"...!" Ren shook a little, and the shirtless man smiled. "Yes, of course. Only a persona user wouldn't get shocked by this." The man said as he put his hand into his belt, and took out his revolver.

 _"Shit, this isn't good..."_ Ren thought to himself, as a drop of sweat was caught on his glasses. The man raised the revolver at Ren, and Mika watched from far away in panic. "No, Ren, please..." Mika prayed.

"Join us." The shirtless man said. Ren looked up in surprise. "What?" Ren said. The person in a green jacket groaned. "Are you fucking deaf? Didn't you just hear him say it?"

"Now, now, Jin. It is not the time to fight. We are only trying to have a peace agreement here." The shirtless man said. "...If the person obliges." The shirtless man said as he put his fingers on the trigger of the revolver.

"Now, what will your decision be? Will you join us?" The shirtless man said. "...or die?" The man said as he held the revolver to Ren's head.

"That fucking bitch..." Mika was getting really pissed off now, and her entire body was turning red, including her hair and eyes. She couldn't hold it in anymore and decided the charge into them.

The 3 persona users in front of him saw this, and the shirtless man quickly shot Ren in the leg. "ARGGH! FUCK!" Ren screamed as he got onto the floor. Mika slammed the ground as she stopped next to Ren, and saw Ren's injury.

"Don't worry Ren, I'll get those fucking scumbags for making one of the most retarded mistakes IN THEIR FUCKING LIFE!" Mika said as she charged into the shirtless man. The man shot 3 bullets, but Mika quickly passed them at a fast speed and spewed her fire attack as she swiped her arms across the air.

Unlike the shirtless man's shots, all of Mika's fire shots hit on the man's chest, and the man fell to the floor. The two people behind him pushed back a little and carried the shirtless man by his arms. The man was unconscious, and his shirtless chest was covered with burnt marks all over.

Mika snickered and spat on to the floor. Her entire body was glowing red, and her eyes and hair were all crimson red. The two attempted to escape through throwing a flashbang to the floor and blinding Mika, but Mika grabbed both of them by their necks before they can do that, and lifted both of them into the air.

"TIME FOR THE MAIN COURSE!" Mika screamed in the most psycho voice anyone can think of. Mika tightened her grip on both of their necks and broke the green-jacketed man's neck first. Mika then threw the lifeless body of him to the floor and prepared for another shot at the white dressed women.

*BANG!*

The gunshot rang across the empty streets, and Mika slowly loosened her grip on the women. The shirtless men awakened and shot his last bullet into Mika's chest. The women escaped Mika's onto the floor and grabbed the shirtless men, and dragged him from Mika's sighed. Mika was on her knees now, with a revolver shot that went through her heart.

"Guh...! Ah...!" Mika said as she clasped her chest, exactly where the bullet went through. She looked in front of her. The woman and the shirtless man both disappeared, and all there was left was Ren's unconscious body behind her, and the dead body of the supposed "Jin" guy.

Mika was down on all fours and coughed up blood. She looked behind and saw Ren's unconscious body. "No...! Not...like...this-" Mika dropped to the floor flat on her face, and she was about to be knocked out any second now. She was losing blood at an extremely fast pace.

"R...en...h...e..lp..." Mika said as she stretched towards Ren. She barely touched Ren's hair, but he didn't even move a little bit. "..." Mika went silent and laid down flat on her chest. She began to tear up. "I...don't want to...die..." Mika said as her voice was getting powerless.

"Please...save-"

"Alright, give me your arm." A voice said behind her. Mika didn't have enough energy to look behind in surprise, and she just followed its instructions. Her head felt like she was in the air, and she didn't feel anything.

The person lifted Mika on its arms and saw Ren also. The person looked at Mika and asked away. "Is he with you also?" The person asked. Mika nodded helplessly. "Y-yes." Mika said as she stole a glance at Ren. He was on the floor, and he already looked like he was dead.

The person sighed and put Mika on one arm, and crouched down to pick up Ren on the other arm. The person began walking, and Mika started to heal back again. "...You have healing factors?" The person asked. Mika gasped as her heart was intact again. She huffed and was severely confused.

"I'm...not sure. I just found out my abilities as of recent, and I didn't even get down to the surface of those either..." Mika said as she noticed her wounds were healing now. "...?" Mika looked at her chest, and except for the bullet marks, her wounds were beginning to heal.

"Your wounds...they're gone." The person said in wonder. Mika looked at her left hand, but the left hand was not healing for some reason. She wiggled it around, and she still felt pain on the wounds.

 _"Why can some wounds be healed but not all?"_ Mika questioned herself in her mind. She thought about it for a bit and looked behind her as she walked.

The green moonlight was shining brightly behind the three, and Mika went for the shot. "Hey, can we stop for a bit?" Mika asked the person. The person nodded and rested on the floor where they stopped. Mika held out her arms towards the green moonlight and waited.

"What are you doing?" The person asked. Mika looked back at the person and smiled with a mix of worry. "Just...wait for a bit." Mika said as she continued to stretch her arms out to the moon.

Mika continued to do it until she felt a tingling sensation on her arm. She cringed a little and flinched, but when she opened her eyes, she could see her wounds getting covered with her new skin, and the wounds were disappearing in no time like complete magic.

The person stared at this and rubbed its chin. "Can you do it on your friend too?" The person asked. Mika shook her head. "No, I can only transfer energy inside of me. If I do touch him, it won't do any good." Mika said as she wiggled her arms one more time, and blew on it.

"You really needed to blow your arm?" The person asked. Mika looked in utter shock at the person. "I like my arms clean, thank you very much." Mika said sarcastically. The person snickered. "Well, time to go then." The person said as it picked up Ren by his arms again.

"Actually, I'll carry him. You can rest now." Mika said as she put Ren's arm around her shoulders. The person shrugged and walked away from Ren.

As the three walked, Mika noticed the person was a bit odd. She wore a red skirt and a white shirt that had long sleeves. It was an odd mix of fashion, but Mika didn't really hate it. After all, the white shirt goes with almost anything anyways.

"So...what's your name?" The person asked. Mika looked at her and rubbed her chin in a sarcastic tone. "Come on, you really need to think about your name too?!" The person groaned. Mika giggled. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just fooling around! My name's Mika Seno, and the guy next to me is Ren Amamiya." Mika said.

The person stared into the two and rubbed its chin. "Are you two...Wild Cards by any chance?" The person asked. Mika flinched and initially hesitated to answer, but she realized her flinch already gave it away, so she nodded.

"I see...two Wild Cards in the same place. That is rare." The person said. Mika nodded. "Yeah, I heard daddy long-nose over at the blue room said that this happens like once per generation or something. I dunno. I rarely visit him anyway." Mika said as they continued to cross the empty crosswalk.

"You should visit them more often. You can earn a lot of cool stuff through the things Elizabeth gives you." The person said. "Yeah, I know, but still-" Mika stopped for a bit and realized something was off.

"How do you know Elizabeth?" Mika asked as she stopped in her tracks. The person winced, and a lightbulb lit in the person's head. "I-I'm a Wild Card too! And I also have the contract!" The person said.

"O...kay...?" Mika said in a conflicted tone. "That could mean a lot of different things, but I'll believe you." Mika said. The person looked away from Mika and wiped its sweat from its forehead.

The three Wild Cards soon reached the Nagasaki Shrine, and the person looked at it a bit emotionally for some reason. "You alright?" Mika asked. The person slowly looked away from the Shrine and nodded. "Yeah, I'm all good."

The three continued walking until they finally reached their destination: Iwatodai Dorms. The person looked at the dorm in a heartfelt way and touched its chest as the person stared into the entrance. Mika glanced at the person and realized it was the same look she had when she was looking at the Shrine.

The person slapped herself in the face to get a hold of itself. The person then turned to Mika and Ren, and smiled. "You can make your own way now, right?" The person asked. Mika nodded. "I'd have to be as dumb as this guy to not know the answer to that question." Mika snickered. The person laughed.

"You two be safe. And I'll see you soon." The person said. Mika stared at the person walking away, until she realized she forgot something.

"Wait!" Mika shouted across the deserted streets. The person turned around. "Hm?" The person said.

"What's your name!" Mika screamed across the street. The person rubbed its ears in irritation. Mika smiled in response. "First, you don't need to scream it!" The person mocked Mika as she screamed also.

"Second, my name is Minako!" The person shouted as she walked off into the distance, with her auburn hair and ponytail dancing away as she walked.

* * *

Mitsuru and Akihiko sat on the couch in helplessness, and Yukari was also. Ren and Mika didn't return even before the end of the Dark Hour.

"I'm going out." Akihiko said. Mitsuru grabbed him and forced him back to the couch. "Don't do anything stupid, Akihiko. Remember what happened to you last time.

"But...we can't just leave them like this!" Yukari said as she stood up. Mitsuru glared at Yukari. Yukari mumbled, and sat back down, defeated.

Mitsuru then sighed. "I know you're all shocked...but the best we can do right now is pray for them to be alive." Mitsuru said as she clasped both of her hands.

Akihiko and Yukari both nodded slowly and looked down at the floor. "I guess we don't have a choice...fuck!" Akihiko said as he slammed the edge of the couch.

But then, a knock on the door was heard. The three all ran towards the door and opened it so fast, that a wind was formed.

"Um...Morning." Mika said as she waved awkwardly and gave the most unnatural smile ever. Next to her was Ren, whose wounds all dried up already.

Yukari hugged Mika which loosened her grip on Ren, and when Ren was about to collapse to the floor, Akihiko grabbed him before Ren fell to the floor.

"G-geez! You nearly made Ren fall to the floor!" Mika said, with an annoyed tone. Yukari pushed herself away from Mika and bowed down constantly. "I-I'm sorry!" Yukari said. Mika shook her head. "Nah, It's alright. I'm pretty sure you guys thought we were both dead, but here we are." Mika said as she shrugged.

"I'm going to get Ren to a hospital. You going to follow?" Akihiko asked Mika. Mika nodded. "Can't do anything without him. Gotta see my big bro through." Mika said.

"Big bro?" Yukari said in confusion. Mika nodded. "Yep. He's my bro. We both hate each other. Doesn't that mean the same thing?" Mika said. Mitsuru put a hand on her face, and Akihiko pretended to ignore what Mika just said, and picked Ren up by his arms.

"You're going to go right away?" Mika asked Akihiko. Akihiko nodded. "The faster we go, the faster he recovers. Let's go." Akihiko said. Mika nodded.

Mika and Akihiko took off, Yukari and Mitsuru were left in the front of the Dorm. They both looked at each other and went upstairs awkwardly. They weren't the closest of friends, so it was only natural for no speech to happen between the two.

"And I knew that perfectly back then too..." A voice said behind the windows around the kitchen. Minako was staring from the outside and was looking in deep sadness.

"They probably don't even remember me, do they...?" Minako said as she sighed. She got off from the boxes she was standing on and brushed her white shirt and red skirt.

She walked away from the dorm and looked back at it. She then continued to grow distance between it, and she began to tear up now.

"All that sacrifice Minato gave...And I threw it out the window selfishly...All because I wanted to live..." Minako said as she began to have a breakdown, and she ran away from the dorm, not wanting any more memories of it.

"God...I'm such an idiot!"

* * *

The night passed, and Fuuka mumbled, woke up, and realized she was sleeping on the floor. "Mmm..." Fuuka said as she rubbed her eyes. She got up and yawned.

"Are you awake?" A voice said. Fuuka slowly opened her eyes, and through the bright sunshine going through the window, was a black cat with blue eyes. "You alright?" The cat said.

The 'cat' said. Fuuka stood up and held herself back to a nearby wall. "W-what are you?!" Fuuka said as she grabbed a pillow and hid half her face behind it. Morgana sighed and got close to her, and Fuuka was shaking like a construction drill.

"Hey, hey! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm...just a talking cat!" Morgana tried to quickly reassure her. Fuuka slowly began to acknowledge this and put her hand near Morgana's head.

Morgana gulped and closed his eyes. Fuuka then patted his head once, then twice, then three times, then repeated. Morgana purred in pleasure, and Fuuka still continued to. Morgana flipped over his entire body and admitted defeat to Fuuka's petting skills.

"Too much...petting...but so much...happiness..." Morgana said as he had trouble speaking through all of the pleasure he received from those pets. Fuuka put a hand over her mouth and giggled.

"I see, so you are a very cute cat after all..." Fuuka said as she petted Morgana again with a huge smile on her face. Morgan blushed, but Fuuka couldn't see this, because, well, but he's a cat.

"Do you belong to Ren by any chance?" Fuuka asked as she sat on the floor with Morgana. Morgana nodded. "Yep. Dare I say it, he's my owner." Morgana said as he scratched his head with his back foot. "Say, don't you have to go to school?" Morgana said as he looked at the clock behind Fuuka.

Fuuka looked at the time and realized she was late. "Y-you're right!" Fuuka said as she stood up. She walked around the room like mad and got to her closet, and began changing in front of Morgana. Morgana turned his back, like a gentleman.

"There. All done! Now let's go kittycat!" Fuuka said. Morgana nodded and followed Fuuka out of the door.

Fuuka rushed downstairs instead of using an elevator, as the elevator would always be late. She kicked the door open and made sure her pantyhose didn't rip from her high-kick. Morgana was honestly surprised that she was that flexible, as her legs stretched all the way to 150 degrees.

Fuuka and Morgana continued to run down the street until Fuuka tripped on a small piece of rock, and face planted to the floor. Morgana quickly made his way to her and tapped on her head.

"Hey! Are you alright?" Morgana said. Fuuka slowly picked her head up, and Morgana noticed she had a bloody nose from the fall. "I-I'm alright. Let's go!" Fuuka said as she wiped the blood with her school uniform, and picked herself up. Morgana followed her soon.

 _"She's weak on the outside but strong like a rock in the inside...She's just like Haru."_ Morgana thought to himself, as the duo were now entering the bus. Fuuka sighed in relief that she at least caught the bus. She looked at the time through her phone, and it was 10 minutes before the school gates close. She looked around the bus, and it was packed with businessmen in suits, fellow schoolmates, and some old people. It was the classic rush hour image, and people were looking as intense as ever.

...But Morgana seems to be asleep on Fuuka's lap like no one's business. "H-hey, kittycat! What are you-" Fuuka was cut off as Morgana rolled around Fuuka's lap. Fuuka couldn't resist but blush at this view, as this was the first time in her life that a cute cat like Morgana was doing something like this on her lap. Fuuka watched aimlessly for a straight 5 minute until the bus finally arrived at the station, and Fuuka came back to her senses.

"U-um, kitty! We have to go now!" Fuuka said as she slapped Morgana on the sides, a bit too hard maybe. Morgana yelped in pain, and Fuuka widened her eyes in surprise. "A-are you alright?!" Fuuka said.

"Yeah, I'm okay. But I don't think you'll be okay if we don't leave at this bus station." Morgana said as the last of the passenger was leaving the bus. Fuuka held onto Morgana and quickly jumped out of the bus like an acrobat. She even front rolled to the floor like one of those parkour stuntmen.

"That...was pretty cool." Morgana said as he was still looking in shock at what just happened a second ago. One of the weakest girl on the inside just performed a parkour trick that could get herself hurt if she did it wrong. Fuuka was running now, at an extremely fast speed. Morgana realized she wasn't just any weak girl. She was strong. And he had to make Fuuka realize.

But Fuuka didn't have any time thinking of what she just did, because she was running out of time. She barely passed through the school gates, and now she was trying to reach the classroom without tripping and falling again. She entered the front lobby and jumped the stairs like a bunny. She reached the floor where her classroom was and got to the hallway.

Fuuka couldn't run anymore, as she was completely drained of energy from what she did the 20 minutes. She huffed and slowly walked towards her classroom, and walked as she looked down. She avoided any eye contact with anyone around her, and Morgana noticed this and sighed. "She's just like Haru..." Morgana said.

Fuuka made her way into the classroom, breathed in and picked her head up in relief. "Phew..." Fuuka said as she sat on the chair. Morgana didn't say anything about this though, because she probably did her day worth of exercise that lasts 20 minutes of running and jumping.

Then the bell rang, and the students inside the classroom went to their seats, and more students entered the room so they don't get screamed at by Ekoda for being late.

Fuuka was a bit nervous though because she was worried that Ekoda might know what happened yesterday. Ekoda had supported the three girls that bullied her and always covered up whatever bad things they did, especially when they bully Fuuka.

"If Ekoda does know what happened yesterday..." Fuuka began to shiver in her seat. Morgana sighed and rubbed his head on her chest. "K-kittycat?" Fuuka said. Morgana picked his head up towards Fuuka and snickered. "It's no good if you can't think positively. I'm going to train you for today, and there's nothing you can do about it, alright?" Morgana said. Fuuka nodded hesitantly, as this was completely new to her.

"Train? But what kind of training, kittycat?" Fuuka asked. But right at that moment, the door slid open, and Fuuka immediately put down her head in order to avoid Ekoda's viewpoint. Morgana jumped into Fuuka's bag and struggled a little because it was a bit smaller than yesterdays' bag.

Fuuka cringed and waited for the worst, as she imagined in her head of what Ekoda might do to her. "C-can he expel me? B-but if he does...then my parents will-"

"Fuuka? Are you okay?" A voice said. Fuuka stole a glance left to right, but t wasn't the students that said it. She looked in front, and it was no other than Ms. Toriumi in the front of the classroom. Fuuka looked surprised and gasped a little, which the entire class heard it.

"...Are you alright Fuuka?" Ms. Toriumi asked again. Fuuka nodded aggressively. "YES I'M PERFECTLY OKAY TODAY, MS. TORIUMI!" Fuuka said as she screamed with her eyes closed and her face bright red. The voice was heard across the classroom again, if not even across the classrooms next to her's.

"I-I see...You can sit down now, Fuuka." Ms. Toriumi said. Fuuka noticed that she was standing up straight like as if she was in the military, and she bolted back to her seat with her head sank on top of the table. Everyone in the class laughed, and Fuuka began to give out a few laughs too, but her's sounded like she was defeated in something.

This made Morgana more urgent for her 'training'. Morgana sighed and slept in Fuuka's seat, as Ms. Toriumi began roll call.

* * *

Ren slowly opened his eyes and checked his surroundings. He looked left and right, and it was clear that he was in a hospital room. The whiteness of the room and the bed gave it away.

"You finally awake?" A voice next to him said. Ren looked next to him and smiled. "Yeah, I'm awake." Ren said. It was no other than Mika that was next to him, grabbing his hand.

Mika slowly realized she was grabbing his hand and let go. "S-sorry." Mika said. Ren shook his head. "It's completely fine. Considering what we went through last night, I'll let you touch my hand as much as you want." Ren said as he gave out his hand towards Mika.

Mika gulped and slowly nudged her cheeks over Ren's hand. Ren smiled and rubbed Mika's cheeks, then her beige-colored hair. The sunshine that was coming through the hospital room was making Mika's face more bright through the light, and Ren can only be happy the fact that they are both alive.

"But...who saved us?" Ren asked. "I thought we were both helpless during that time..." Ren said as he sank into his bed. Mika grabbed both of Ren's shoulders and lifted him back up straight.

"A girl called 'Minako' saved us. She helped me get up, which helped my healing factor get to work. But..." Mika looked at Ren's leg and her smile turned into sadness.

"Hey, hey. At least we're both alive. That's all it matters." Ren said as he patted Mika on the back. Mika nodded. "Yeah. That's all that matters." Mika said as she smiled at Ren. Ren smiled back.

They both stared into each other's eyes for a moment, until Mika couldn't hold it anymore and starting shaking in her seat.

"U-um, I think I'm going to grab a bite at the local restaurant downtown. You're going to follow?" Mika said. Ren nodded. "Sure. I can use a bite." Ren said as he stood up from the bed.

"But you sure I can leave this room yet?" Ren asked. Mika nodded. "Actually, you were supposed to leave a few hours ago, but you still didn't wake up, so I had to wait. Do you know how long I waited for you to wake up? Seriously, I should've brought my homework here so I could've just done it-"

"Well, there's no guarantee you would do your homework whether I was asleep or not." Ren said as he nudged Mika. Mika groaned. "I swear if you weren't on this hospital bed right now I would totally break your bones..." Mika mumbled.

Ren stood up and grabbed his clothes. He went into the bathroom and began changing, and Mika had to wait. Again. She sighed, but still waited for a nice person for once.

"Well? Let's go eat!" Ren said as he left the bathroom and walked towards the door. Mika stood up from her chair and rushed to follow him. "Hey! Wait up!"

* * *

Mika and Ren made their way downtown and went to the mall. It was not nearby, but it wasn't that far either. They made their way inside and saw a cafe.

Ren's eyes caught on this cafe, as it wasn't any other ordinary cafe, it was a MAID cafe. Ren looked away from Mika and giggled like the happiest man alive. Mika noticed and groaned. "So this is your fetish?" Mika asked with her arms crossed.

"Well, its every man's dream to be served by a cute girl in a maid costume." Ren said as he looked up and closed his eyes, and imagined a cute girl serving him coffee. "Oh, master here's your coffee. Oh, master, you shouldn't do this here~" Ren mimicked a maid from a short AV he watched from last week. Ren was expecting Mika to scold him again, but when he looked at her, she looked deep in thought.

"So that's what boys like..." Mika said as she rubbed her chin. Ren was a bit hesitant on how to handle this kind of situation, so he waited it out. Mika turned to Ren and gulped. They both stopped in the middle of the mall, and Mika asked something that she would regret forever later.

"Um...would you like it if I was in a maid costume?" Mika said as touched the tip of her fingers with each other. _"What the hell am I doing..."_ Mika thought to herself. But she believed this is one of the few ways to get close to Ren beyond friendship.

"..." Ren went silent, then imagined Mika in a maid costume...

 _"H-hey! What are you looking at?!" Mika said as she covered her chest with both her arms. "What...? You want me to call you master?" Mika said hesitantly. "I..I...Yes, master..." Mika said, defeated, as she twisted her ribbon around her chest._

Ren opened his eyes and nodded. "Yep. Sure." Ren said with the most poker face he can think of. Mika widened her eyes in a surprise of the poker face that Ren just gave. It creeped out Mika a bit, but Mika nodded. "Y-yeah, sure..."

"Well, lets go!" Ren energetically said as he headed to the sushi store in front of him. Mika was already nervous about whether she was too ambitious or she did make the right decision. She followed Ren as she bit her nails in distress.

Mika and Ren sat down at the table nearby and looked at the menu. Mika looked at the menu, and then looked at Ren. "What?" Ren asked. "Nothing. It's just...I think the prices went up compared to last time." Mika said as she looked at the price of Salmon Sashimi. Ren scratched his hair in annoyance and sighed.

"Whatever, I'm going to pay anyway...It's not like you have anything to worry about." Ren said. Mika shook from her chair in surprise. "Wait, you're really going to pay?" Mika said in a shocked tone. Ren looked at her in disappointment. "Yeah. Why not. I might as well because I've got to use this check card somewhere." Ren said as he brought out a check card from his wallet, and flipped it around his hand.

"And as for you, you can pay me in a...'different' way." Ren said as he smirked. Mika groaned. "This was a mistake. I just know it for sure." Mika said to herself. But she already realized it was too late to change.

"Whatever, you'll get your treat later, let's eat first." Mika said as she called waiter. "Be right there!" The waiter said. Mika continued having her hands raised, and Ren sat back tapping around on his phone. He got to Fuuka's number and tapped away.

Ren: Hey fuuka

Fuuka: hi ren-kun!

Ren: i know this is going to sound wierd but do you have my talking cat by any chance?

Fuuka: actually its here with me in school. Im trying my best to keep it hidden.

Ren: great. when can i pick him up?

Fuuka: um

Fuuka: after this training, he's going to give me.

Ren: training? what kind of training

Fuuka: training to develop my social skills? im not sure but he wants to help me really bad and i cant say no to such a cute cat ;(

Ren: ...alright. i'll pick him up tommorow. is that alright?

Fuuka: yes! that's perfect! thank you!

Ren: youre welcome. anyway, have a safe day.

Ren closed his phone and noticed the waiter isn't here yet. Mika looked at Ren curiously. "Who were you talking to?" Mika asked. "Fuuka. Apparently, she has Morgana." Ren said.

"Morgana and Fuuka...not a bad combo. I ship em'." Mika said as she grinned. "You're seriously trying to pair a cat and a human?" Ren said as he laughed. Mika shrugged. "Love has no limits. I...think." Mika said, a bit unsure of what she just said.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The waiter said as she ran towards Ren and Mika's table. The waiter opened her notebook to take their order. "Yeah, yeah, it's okay. As long as we get our food, we're cool." Mika said as she sat back calmly. Ren noticed the waiter looked a bit familiar. That dark brown unkempt hair, dark brown eyes and a somewhat long and sleepy face, it was definitely her.

"Well, I'd like to have a Shoyu ramen please, Ms. Kawakami." Ren said as he tried to hide his smile. The waiter paused her writing and looked at Ren. "How...do you know my name?" Ms. Kawakami asked. Ren looked at her one more time. She looked relatively young, in fact, she looked like she looked like she was in high school. But her visuals looked pretty young already, so it was no surprise she looked younger in this time period.

"Probably coincidence. Shoyu ramen for you too, Mika?" Ren said. Mika nodded and looked at Ren a bit suspiciously. "You know her?" Mika asked. Ren tried to think of an answer to this question, and the lightbulb in his head lit.

"Yeah, I know her. She's a teacher!" Ren said. Ms. Kawakami looked genuinely surprised. "And she's...not having the easiest of times, to be honest." Ren said. Ms. Kawakami looked like she was ready to arrest Ren right where he was sitting.

Ms. Kawakami slammed the notebook and glared at Ren. "Alright kid, you're going to tell me everything you know about me, and how you knew." Ms. Kawakami said. Ren sat back on his chair and smiled. "I'd love to, but I can't really talk about your 'other job' here, can't I?" Ren said as he sipped on his water. Ms. Kawakami flinched a little.

"What's this other job?" Mika asked. Ms. Kawakami shook her head. "It's...nothing." Ms. Kawakami said. Ren actually began to feel a bit guilty now, because her reason for doing so much part-time jobs was because of the debt she had to pay to one of her students, and she had to sacrifice her entire afternoon to maid work to pay off the debt.

"She has her reasons. Now, can you get us 2 Shoyu ramen?" Ren said. "Oh, and can I talk to you after? I really need to inform you about something." Ren said. Ms. Kawakami nodded. "Fine. 2 Shoyu ramen and a conversation coming right up." Ms. Kawakami said sarcastically.

"The conversation is going to the tip!" Ms. Kawakami said as she got the orders to the chef. Ren waved and nodded. Mika still looked at Ren in a weird way. Ren acknowledged this and tried to explain.

"...She was my teacher. I only heard this through rumors and seeing how she's reacting to it, I think its true." Ren bluffed because Ms. Kawakami told him everything when he was still in Tokyo, as he maxed out his Social Link with Ms. Kawakami. He even defeated the student's parent's shadow, as they were the ones that were excessively asking for money at first place, and they used it for their own good.

Ren realized this and wondered if their shadows would be in Tartarus also. _"It was a bit different compared to Mementos, but its got to be somewhere if it's a shadow."_ Ren thought to himself. While Ren was busy thinking of ways to help Ms. Kawakami, Mika was looking at the TV.

 _ **"This morning a body was found on the streets, which was a man named Jin Shirato. He was carrying dangerous explosives such as hand grenades, but it was found by the police that none of the hand grenades were used. The police are still searching for the suspect, but they announced that 'it is highly unlikely to be found because of the condition of the corpse."** _The announcer on the TV said.

Ren was also listening in and noticed something was weird. "Wait, didn't we like drop at least a gallon of blood on the street also? How could they not identify-"

"Black money. It's Mitsuru-senpai's work." Mika said as she sighed. "It's good that were clean and off the case, but it still makes me a bit guilty that we did it through bribery..." Mika said as she drank away the cup of ice water in front of her.

"Just look at the bright side. We'd be at the police right now if it weren't for her." Ren said. "The method of it doesn't matter. It's only whether or not the result of that method is good or bad." Ren said as he tapped the table with his fingers. "Well, that's at least what the society wants us to know it as." Ren said.

Soon enough, two hot bowls of Shoyu ramen came, and Ms. Kawakami had both of the bowls in both of her hands. "Here's your ramen!" Ms. Kawakami said as she put down one bowl in front of Mika, and the other in front of Ren. When Ms. Kawakami was about to leave, Ren tapped her on her wrist. Ms. Kawakami turned to look at Ren, and Ren stood up from his seat, then grabbed Ms. Kawakami's arm and went outside the store.

"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Mika said as she put down her chopstick. Ren shifted his face towards Mika and patted her head. "Just stay put for a while, okay? It won't be too long." Ren said as he left the store.

"Darn youth these days..." The owner of the store said as he sighed at the dough of ramen noodles.

* * *

Ren dragged Ms. Kawakami outside and stopped in front of the fountain in the middle of the mall. Ms. Kawakami snatched away from Ren's grip and rubbed the place where Ren touched. "Geez, do it with a little less power next time..." Ms. Kawakami said.

"Sorry about that, but I had to. I'm in a rush of something." Ren said as he picked into his pockets, and brought out a small blue notebook that fit right in his hand. "What's that? A diary of yours?" Ms. Kawakami said jokingly.

"No, something that will save your life." Ren said as he flipped open the pages, and brought out a small pencil. Ms. Kawakami looked startled at what Ren just said.

"Now, tell me the name of the people you owe your debt to." Ren said as he looked at Ms. Kawakami. "H-how do you know that?!" Ms. Kawakami said in a genuine shock.

"That's not what's important right now. Name!" Ren shouted. Ms. Kawakami widened her eyes in surprise because of Ren's scream. "Minoru and Megumi Takase." Ms. Kawakami said with her head down.

"Minoru...Takase...and...Megumi...Takase." Ren said as he was jotting down the names in the blue book. After Ren finished jotting down the names, a text began appearing in the book under the names.

"Today, Dark Hour, Tartarus." Ren read out as he smiled. "Perfect."

"What even is that? Death note?" Ms. Kawakami said. She looked severely confused.

"No, it's nothing. Now let's get back before the noodles get bad." Ren said as he ripped out the page of the notebook where he wrote the names.

"This is going to become really useful..." Ren said as he smiled and felt the notebook in his pockets.

* * *

 **A few days ago**

Ren was in his room now and sat in blankness because of his homework. "Gah! This is too hard!" Ren said as he clasped his head with both of his arms.

"Well, it's your fault for sleeping in class." Morgana said as he played around with Ren's bag handle. Ren glared at Morgana and grabbed him, and carried him outside.

"Where are we going?" Morgana said. Ren walked into the hallway of the dorm silently and got to Yukari's room. Ren knocked on the door as politely as possible.

Yukari slowly opened the door and was met with Ren, who had Morgana in his arms. Yukari yelped in joy and grabbed Morgana without even saying anything to Ren. "Have fun..." Ren said as he closed the door. Yukari nodded aggressively, and Morgana gulped in worry.

Ren walked back to his room and grabbed his pencil again. But he realized something was missing. "Where's Mika-Oh right." Ren realized she was at school protecting Fuuka again.

"I guess a girl like her would need Mika..." Ren said as he played around with his pencil and spun around his chair. As he was spinning around, he noticed a blue bag on top of a shelf near the mirror. Ren stopped his spinning chair and walked towards the shelf.

He grabbed the blue bag and opened it. Inside was the letter he got at the first day he arrived at the train, which told him to go to this dorm, and a blue notebook that was the size of his hands. He picked it up from the bag and flipped the pages until another note came out.

"Another note..." Ren said as he picked up the note. It was written in the same handwriting, and Ren read it out loud.

"Write the name of the person you want to change, and it will show the location and the time of where the person's shadow will appear. 'Killing' this shadow will 'purify' the person." Ren said. He smiled soon enough, and realized what this could do and its potential.

"So I'm going to steal hearts again, but this time it called 'purifying'." Ren said as he sat back in his seat. "But...there's so many people..." Ren said as he tried to count the number of people he wanted to use this on. Ekoda, those girls who bully Fuuka, maybe Mika if she acts like a kid again, or get Junpei out of his weird inappropriate fetishes.

But Ren decided to keep it in his pockets at all times, and a pencil, just to make sure he was ready at all times.

* * *

Ren and Ms. Kawakami traded numbers after they returned to the restaurant, and Ren sat back down in his seat. Mika was already finished with her meal, and she crossed her arms at Ren in a bit of an annoyed tone. "What did you do with her?" Mika said as she smiled sarcastically.

"Talked. It's been a while since I've seen her, so I wanted to keep up to date." Ren said as he grabbed his chopsticks and plunged it into the bowl. Mika tapped her fingers on her arms. "Yep. Of course. You made sure you didn't touch each other?" Mika said in a serious tone.

"W-what?! What do you even think we were doing?!" Ren said in a confused tone. Mika realized what she just said and held her mouth shut. "I-I didn't say anything!" Mika said. Ren sighed and got back to his noodles before it got cold.

Ren suddenly dropped his chopsticks to the table and looked at Mika. "Oh, right. The two of us are going to Tartarus today." Ren said. Mika smirked. "Oh...just the two of us. What is this, a date? Are you going to bring a ring?" Mika said.

"No. We're going to save a person today." Ren said as he chowed down his noodles. Mika looked confused but went with it.

"A Tartarus journey with Ren only...this is..." Mika looked down at the floor and blushes. "I hope I don't screw up...!"

* * *

Jesus that was a long chapter. Well, I threw a lot of crap at you guys this chapter, so I think I have to explain some.

1\. Mika's passive isn't a physical weapon, it is fire. And she also has another passive, which is a healing factor, which will make herself healed the closer the injuries are close to the green moonlight (ONLY green moonlights). But she is incapable of healing anyone else, she is incapable of giving the energy to anyone else, and she can only receive the energy.

2\. Minako is going to appear again. She didn't appear only as a cameo. She will play an important part in the story.

3\. The blue notebook is somewhat of a replacement to the mementos navigator and is going to play a vital role later. This is possibly going to replace the Full moon operation shadows (maybe).

4\. Regarding the 'Fuuka being able to listen to Morgana before awakening to her persona' situation, that was a mistake. But I think from now on I'll have to get people with potential to be able to listen to Morgana, not only the people who had their personas awakened.

Remember, I'm currently improving as I write, so a review is always helpful for me to improve. If you liked it or hated it, please tell me so I can know the reception of the chapter I wrote.

Thanks,  
Edward.


	8. First:Encounter

After finishing the ramen, Ren paid up as Mika was talking to Ms. Kawakami. Mika asked about the things she went through and seeing how Mika was close to Ren, Ms. Kawakami decided to tell her everything too.

"Wow, I hope you're alright..." Mika said as she looked sorry for her. Ms. Kawakami shook her head. "I'm fine. I can handle it for now, but it's just that I don't know how long this is going to go for..." Ms. Kawakami said as she grabbed her ordering the notebook with a strong grip.

"I hope...one day, I'd be free from this hell I call debt, and maybe be a teacher again." Ms. Kawakami said as she tapped on the cash register, and gave the receipt to Ren. Ren's jaws dropped when he saw the price, but neither Ms. Kawakami or Mika noticed this, as they were still having their conversation. Ren wiped a small tear and picked into his pockets, and used most of his cash that was inside his pockets.

"So...which school you guys go to?" Ms. Kawakami asked as she put the cash inside the register. "Gekkokan High. Our dorm is a few meters away from here." Ren said as he checked if he had any change for a piece of gum. "Fuck..." Ren mumbled to himself as he found out he didn't have any cash left.

"Gekkokan High? Isn't that a really expensive school?" Ms. Kawakami asked in a serious tone. Ren nodded. "Yeah, but we attend the school through a scholarship program." Ren said. "Although I'm not exactly sure why Mika gets her scholarship..." Ren said as he squinted at Mika sarcastically. Mika smacked him in the back of the head angrily.

"I'd say the same thing for you." Mika said as she rubbed her hand to cool it down after the huge slap. Ren murmured a bunch of unintelligible words under his breath, signaling that the pain was unbearable. Ms. Kawakami snickered at Ren.

"You kids really know how to play around with each other." Ms. Kawakami said as she gave Ren the receipt. Ren crumbled it up so he doesn't remember the amount of money he wasted.

Ms. Kawakami lifted her head towards the ceiling of the store and sighed. "One day, I'd be a teacher for a great school like that..." Ms. Kawakami said as she continued staring at the ceiling. Ren and Mika both looked at each other in thought and realized something.

They both turned around, facing their backs against Ms. Kawakami who was still dazed out. "You know, if Ekoda gets fired, she could come in as a replacement." Mika said. Ren rubbed his chin in thought. "I guess she could...she is a Japanese language teacher after all." Ren said.

"Perfect. Then after we go after these guys tonight, how bout' we try to do something about the Ekoda situation and get her in for this?" Mika said. Ren gave a thumbs up. Mika smiled brightly and gave a thumbs up back. They both turned around again, waved to Ms. Kawakami, and headed to the door.

After Ren left the store, Mika stopped for a bit and looked at Ms. Kawakami for a bit.

"It's all going to be fine by tomorrow, miss." Mika said as she smiled, and flicked her beige hair as she left the ramen shop. Ms. Kawakami blinked in confusion as Mika left.

"Those kids...are really weird." Ms. Kawakami said as she tapped on the cash register. "Hey, Kawakami! There are people waiting for the order!" The owner of the shop said. "Y-yes, sir!" Ms. Kawakami said in a hurry, as she grabbed her notebook.

Meanwhile, Mika and Ren were pacing themselves to the dorms. They weren't running, but they weren't walking either. They needed to get to their dorms quick before the Dark Hour starts. "How far are we?" Mika asked. Ren looked around the place to get a rough idea of where they are. Where around a few hundred meters away. We're not that far off." Ren said as the walk sign went green, and the two ran on the crosswalk.

They passed the convenience store, the local bookstore, the bus station, and soon arrived at the dorm. Ren coughed a little as he was catching his breath, and Mika was holding onto Ren's shoulders, as she tried not to drop to the floor.

Ren opened the door and was met by Yukari, who was watching the TV. Ren waved and went upstairs, and so did Mika. Yukari waved back and went back to watching the TV. On the second floor, Mitsuru and Akihiko were talking about a new recruit, but Mika and Ren didn't have time for that.

"Where are you two going?" Mitsuru asked. Ren went inside the room, but Mika was caught right outside of the door. She slowly turned around and gave an extremely unnatural smile.

 _"Crap, what do I say?!"_ Mika thought to herself as she retained the smile. She began to sweat a little and began to open her mouth. "I...uh..."

"I'm...going training with Ren!" Mika said as she tried to mimic her fire passive power by swinging her hands and arms around mid-air. "You know, I have a ton of abilities I haven't mastered yet, so...I'm going to the nearby park!" Mika said as she put both her hands on her chest.

Mitsuru and Akihiko looked severely confused, but they went with the flow. "Okay then. Be careful not to cause the same accident again." Akihiko said. "Now about that girl..." Akihiko continued the conversation with Mitsuru, and Mika rushed into the room.

Ren was changing in front of the closet, and Mika groaned and sat on the bed. "You really can't change in the bathroom?!" Mika said as she frowned at Ren. Ren turned around and faced Mika, shirtless. "Okay, so you're expecting me to get embarrassed at you shirtless?" Mika said as she had the most disappointing look on her face.

"W-what? It was mere coincidence!" Ren retaliated. Mika snickered. "Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up and change. I need to change also." Mika said as she laid down on the bed. Ren finished putting on his white t-shirt, and he finally put on his grey hoodie on. He turned to Mika, and she already had her stuff ready.

She had a short black spandex and a grey jacket that almost seemed just like Ren's jacket. She had a yellow t-shirt, and she looked at Ren while holding all of this. "What? You're just going to stand there?" Mika said. Ren shook his head. "I'll wait downstairs. Take your time." Ren said. Mika nodded and began taking off her shirt, and Ren saw her white bra that was firmly cupping her C-cup breasts. Ren widened his eyes and quickly headed to the door. "G-give me some time, Jesus!" Ren said as he hurried outside the room. "I know you looked!" Mika said playfully.

Mika continued changing, as she put on her black spandex and her grey jacket. She looked at herself in the mirror, then went near the desk and opened the drawer. She got her Evoker, and her white watch, which it showed the time as 11:50 PM. "1 hour...that's plenty of time." Mika said. She looked straight and walked towards the door.

She went downstairs, and Ren was watching TV with Yukari, who was apparently sleeping on the couch next to him. Mika scratched her nose once and went in front of the couch where Ren was sitting at. Ren finally noticed that she was downstairs.

"Oh. You ready?" Ren said as he looked at Mika. Mika nodded. "Well, then let's go." Ren said as he turned off the TV. Ren stood up and walked to the door, and Mika followed. As Ren opened the door, the cold night wind crossed both of their faces, and Mika shivered in response.

"Brr...you sure it's summer right now?" Mika said. "I think it's spring. But either way, this weather is really cold for some reason." Ren said as he brought out his phone and checked the weather forecast. It said 11 degrees Celcius. "Yep. Something's not right." Ren said as he put the phone back in his pocket.

"It didn't rain just now, right?" Mika asked. Ren shook his head. "Not when we were coming back to the dorm." Ren said as he looked up into the sky. "Well, cold or not, we still have to go to Tartarus. Let's go before we get late." Ren said as he stepped down the stairs in front of the dorm's entrance.

Mika and Ren walked along the brick sidewalk of Tatsumi Port Island, and they talked over a bunch of random things that came out of both of their minds. "So you had a girlfriend before?" Mika asked in a bit of a cold tone. Ren nodded. "I did. But not anymore." Ren said as he breathed out. "Why?" Mika asked. Ren looked at her and looked down. "...We had some issues." Ren said as he scratched his head. _"But it's really because she's IN A DIFFERENT DIMENSION RIGHT NOW."_ Ren thought to himself.

The two continued walking until they reached the front entrance of the school. The two shivered in coldness, until Ren coincidentally looked up, and noticed something. "Hey...was today a Full Moon?" Ren asked Mika. Mika shrugged. "I dunno, I'm not an astronomist." Mika said as she leaned against one of the walls nearby. Ren continued looking up at the Full Moon and scratched his head.

 _"This definitely means something..."_ Ren thought to himself and then shook it off. "Well, let's go." Ren said. Mika nodded and entered the front gate, as it was already open for some reason. Mika passed by it like it was nothing, but Ren suddenly stopped when he saw something at the edge of the locks.

"This lock...it's been forced open." Ren said as he crouched down and examined the lock. Mika came back to Ren and looked at the lock also. "Does that mean someone's here before us?" Mika said. Ren didn't want to admit it, but he nodded. "I think so. But I don't think that's the main question here." Ren said as he stood back up and dusted his pants.

"Why would someone else want to come here at THIS time of day?" Ren said. Mika realized it was also a bit weird. "Yeah...why would anyone else come to school at midnight-"

Mika was cut off when the clock finally hit 12. The ground rumbled, and Tartarus appeared in front of where Mika and Ren stood. The tower erupted to a skyscraper height, and of course, the surroundings turned into green and was splattered with blood.

"...I guess we'll find out soon enough who's here anyway." Mika said as she shrugged. Ren nodded, and both of them headed for the entrance of Tartarus.

"...?" Ren felt something behind him and turned around. But nothing was there. Mika turned to him again and groaned. "Come on, what's wrong with you today? You're being sensitive to everything." Mika said with her arms crossed. "Now let's go before you begin suspecting a street dog." Mika said as she headed for the entrance. Ren hesitantly nodded and followed.

And Ren wasn't exactly incorrect on his instincts. He was being followed, and for a long time also.

* * *

A few hours ago

Fuuka and Morgana came back from school, and Fuuka threw the bag to the bed and collapsed in it without even changing from her school clothes. She was exhausted, as she had PE that day and she had to do baseball that day. Her shoulders were sore from all the throwing, and she was too tired to grab a muscle spray from the family's first aid kit.

But Morgana, on the other hand, was still in utter shock after seeing Fuuka's baseball skills, if not her physicality itself. As a pitcher, she struck out 7 batters in a row, and as a Batter, she hit 2 home runs in a row. Her flexible body made it possible for her to perform various types of playing style, unlike other students. And to top it all off, she had the power to execute it. _"You can't hit a home run just from touching the ball with the bat..."_ Morgana mumbled. Fuuka shifted from her bed and faced Morgana. "Did...I do okay today, kitty-cat?" Fuuka asked with a very long face. Morgana flinched and nodded. "You did MORE than good." Morgana said.

Fuuka smiled, seeing how Morgana complimented her. It was a long time since the same person complimented her twice a day. Fuuka laid back and closed her eyes. But Fuuka then remembered something.

"Oh! I have to get you back!" Fuuka said as she tried to stand up. "Kya!" But she ended up sitting on the floor instead because of her muscle pain. Morgana sighed and jumped into her arms. "Take me home, captain Yamagishi." Morgana said as he leaned his head on Fuuka's chest one more time. Fuuka smiled and nodded. "T-then off we go, !" Fuuka said as she stuttered a bit in the middle because of her muscle pain once again.

But Fuuka had to change first, and she changed into her black turtleneck underneath a light green poncho with a yellow flower pattern, a long faded jade-green skirt, black legging, and black slippers. Fuuka nodded as she faced herself in the mirror, and she grabbed a medium sized eco bag from the kitchen, and Morgana jumped into the bag.

"Ready to go, kittycat?" Fuuka asked. Morgana nodded. "Ready when you are." Morgana said as he licked his paws. Fuuka nodded back, and she opened the door. Her parents weren't going to be at home for another week because of their business trip, so she didn't have to worry about leaving/entering her house late at night.

Fuuka and Morgana walked down the alleyway, and for some reason, the night was a bit cold today. Fuuka shivered in her poncho, and Morgana was shivering a little bit also, but he was at least protected by the eco bag. Fuuka continued down the road until she was at the train station.

She bought the tickets for the train and entered the platform. As she waited for her train, she checked the time so she doesn't arrive at the dorm too late. "11:00 PM. I don't think it's too late, right kittycat?" Fuuka asked Morgana, who was constantly grooming himself in the bag. "Huh? Oh, right. I'm pretty sure Ren would be fighting with Mika right now, so it's alright." Morgana said.

"F-fight?" Fuuka said in bit of a shock. "Not a fistfight, but a fight between two people with a mental age of a kindergartener," Morgana reassured Fuuka. "Ahhh." Fuuka understood. "So like a sibling fight." Fuuka said. "Exactly. But with a bit of a sexual- I mean, inappropriate diction." Morgana said. Fuuka pretended to ignore what Morgana was about to say and left it to her imagination.

The train came roaring into the platform, and the door to the third cart stopped in front of Fuuka. Fuuka walked into the train and sat down at the end of the cart. Morgana sighed and poked his head out of the bag. "I think you should try sitting next to that person." Morgana said. Fuuka looked over to her left, and she saw an auburn haired person with her headphones on, blaring music across the train. It was Minako, and she was looking like she was waiting for something. "T-that person?!" Fuuka said as she looked at Morgana like as if he was joking.

"Yep. She looks pretty friendly, right?" Morgana said. "Now go on. Make some friends." Morgana said. Fuuka gulped and stood up from the train, and slowly walked towards Minako. She took one step, and another, then another, and then she was a meter away from her.

Morgana was getting extremely desperate now, and he made up his mind. He jumped out of the bag and faced Minako, and jumped on her lap. "H-hey?! What the?!" Minako said. Fuuka gasped in surprise and ran towards Morgana. She grabbed Morgana away from Minako and bowed to her an apology. "I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!" Fuuka said with literally no spaces in between her words.

"It's fine- Wait." The Minako said as she realized who she was talking to. She looked up and looked at Fuuka straight in the eye. "Is that...you?" Minako said. Fuuka looked extremely confused. "Um...I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Fuuka said. That sentence banged a huge hole in Minako's heart, and she sat back on her seat. "It's...alright. I'm probably confusing you with someone else." Minako said with her head down. Fuuka looked worried and tried to remember where she met her. "U-um, so, where are you going?" Fuuka asked as she sat next to her and faked a laugh. Minako still felt dejected at first but gave in to her laugh. "Just wait it out. I had nothing to do, so I'm just listening to music on an empty train." Minako said. But in her mind, she had something else.

 _"Today is the Dark Hour, and I have to eliminate the shadow that appears here, just in case those two new members don't do it themselves."_ Minako thought to herself as she referred to Ren and Mika. Because of their existence in this dimension, it meant that there were going to be a few changes to this place. One of them was possible that they were going to act more independent to themselves rather than to SEES.

And Minako couldn't take that chance and decided to take care of the problem herself. She was waiting it out until the Dark Hour occurred, and hack/slash the hell out of the shadow that appears on the train at the second Full Moon, which was today.

 _"But what if the shadow appears somewhere else...?"_ Minako thought to herself in worry. _"What if the shadow appears at Tartarus instead of this place...?"_ Minako got more worried now. She stood up in response and realized this was the station where the bus ride to school was. Fuuka yelped in surprise a little, and Minako realized that she scared Fuuka a bit.

 _"Oh right...she didn't awaken her persona yet, so she's not capable of protecting herself..."_ Minako thought to herself again but realized the shadow is first rather than the Social Links. "I think I need to get off from this station. But first..." Minako stopped and brought out her phone. "...Can I have your phone number? I'm pretty sure we'll be good friends." Minako said as she smiled. She was being serious this time, as she realized she was the closest to Fuuka when she was still alive in the other dimension.

"S-sure!" Fuuka said as she hurriedly brought out her phone, which she almost dropped, but managed to grab it before it hit the floor. Minako was surprised that she was this athletic. They then exchanged numbers with each other, and Minako soon left. Fuuka waved at her awkwardly, and Minako laughed and waved back.

 _"At least...Fuuka's still with me."_ Minako said as she smiled and went down the stairs from the platform. She checked the time, and it was around 11:20 PM. "I can make it. In fact, I'll have a lot more time to spare."

* * *

11:40 PM

Fuuka and Morgana finally made it to the dorm, and Fuuka politely knocked on the door of the dorm. There weren't any answers for the first 3 minutes, but the door soon opened, and behind it was a sleepy Yukari who looked like who just woke up or was about to sleep.

"Oh. Hello Yukari." Fuuka said. Yukari nodded sleepily. "Hi, Fuuka...Do you have business here?" Yukari asked as she checked the time. Fuuka nodded. "I'm here to return the cat," Fuuka said as she handed the bag. Yukari widened her eyes and grabbed the bag. Morgana's head popped out of the bag, and Yukari snuzzled Morgana when he wasn't even completely out of the bag.

"H-hey! I haven't showered for a day!" Morgana said, retaliating. Yukari smiled and looked at Morgana as she stretched its cheeks. "Then do you want to take a shower with your sister?" Yukari asked. Morgana stopped for a second and tried to process what she just said.

"S-shower with...you?" Morgana said. Yukari giggled. "Why? I thought cats all shower with their owners." Yukari said as she continued holding Morgana, and noticed Fuuka was still idle in front of her. "Ah. But thanks for bringing her back. I'll tell Ren that you brought him back safely." Yukari said. "Wait, is Ren not here?" Fuuka said in a bit of a surprise.

Yukari nodded. "Yeah. From what I heard he's training with Mika." Yukari said as she saw the time. "You should leave soon. The clock's hitting 12." Yukari said. Morgana noticed that Yukari talked about Ren's 'training'. Morgana believed this was a good chance for Fuuka also.

"Hey, Fuuka. We should follow Ren." Morgana said towards Fuuka. Fuuka titled her head. "Hm? Why so?" Fuuka asked. Yukari was shocked that Fuuka can talk to Morgana, but she shook it off.

Morgana jumped from Yukari's arms and talked to Fuuka. "Because if you get the same training that Ren gives to Mika, then I'm pretty sure you'll improve too." Morgana said. Fuuka looked a bit hesitant to answer. Morgana sighed. "I know your physically capable, and Ren would also have no problem helping you, correct?" Morgana said. Fuuka sighed and nodded.

"Alright then, I guess we'll have to go where Ren went. Do you know where he went?" Morgana asked Yukari. Yukari rubbed her chin and realized where he went. "I think they were going into the direction of the school. They said they're going to be back quickly, so you better hurry." Yukari said. Fuuka and Morgana nodded and rushed in the direction of the school.

Yukari watched as they got farther from the dorm. She yawned once and closed the door. "Now what do I do..." Yukari said. Mitsuru came downstairs with Ikutsuki and was talking about the shadows. She noticed Yukari was standing there. "Takeba. I want you to report to the control room ASAP." Mitsuru said. Yukari held in her anger inside and nodded. "...Got it."

* * *

Fuuka and Morgana made it near the school entrance and noticed something wasn't right. "Green walls and blood splatters..." Fuuka said as she crouched down and examined a blood puddle nearby. "This is definitely blood..." Fuuka said as she looked at the color and the smell. But as they got near the school gates, Fuuka noticed someone was already inside. Fuuka immediately hid behind the wall near the opened school gates. She heard Ren and Mika's voice behind. "Come on, what's wrong with you today? You're being sensitive to everything." Fuuka heard Mika's voice behind. "Now let's go before you begin suspecting a street dog." Mika's voice said again, and Fuuka then heard the footsteps getting farther.

"I think we're clear!" Fuuka whispered to Morgana. Morgana nodded, and both of them got out of their hidden positions. Fuuka stared at the tower, and her mouth opened in amazement. "Wow...to think a tall tower like this would exist..." Fuuka said. Fuuka tried to continue walking, but Morgana walked in front of her and stopped her.

"I think this is far enough." Morgana said as he sat where he stood. Fuuka looked at Morgana in disbelief. "B-but, we got this far!" Fuuka said. Morgana shook her head. "No, I think it's too dangerous for you to get into this tower. Dangerous shadows hide here, and you're not even armed." Morgana said.

"S-so what?! If I am going to get stronger, I'll do it with my bare fist!" Fuuka said. Morgana shook his head again. "I don't think that's how it works, Fuuka. These shadows can kill you." Morgana said.

"I DON'T CARE! I'LL AT LEAST DIE KNOWING THAT I TRIED!" Fuuka screamed at the top of her lungs. Morgana sat there and stared at Fuuka, and his temper was at his limit. "...Fine. We'll see what happens." Morgana said as slowly walked towards Tartarus. Fuuka followed him but was interrupted by something.

"Hey! You're going to need this!" A voice said behind her. Fuuka turned around to look, but no one was there. She looked around, but there was still no sight of anyone. She looked down and saw a silver pistol that lied down on the floor. "A gun...?" Fuuka said to herself. She slowly picked it up and looked around to see if anyone saw her. She quickly put the gun in her pocket and followed Morgana into Tartarus.

A figure soon came out of the trees that were around few meters away and sniffed. He fixed his beanie and sniffed. "An obnoxious talking cat and a girl who doesn't know her limits...Aki and Mitsuru are really going to have a hard time..." The tall beanied man said as he snickered, and walked away. A shirtless man saw the tall beanied man and smiled.

"Shinjiro...by any chance have you seen a frizzly haired boy with glasses, and a long beige haired girl anywhere?" The shirtless man asked as he rubbed his revolver with his hands. "I don't know. Maybe they're dead. You shot them right in the heart, right?" Shinjiro said as he snickered again. The shirtless man laughed. "Yes, perhaps my bullets did hear my prayers. I shall see you soon, Shinjiro." The shirtless man said as he walked past Shinjiro and patted him on the back. The man faded away into the distance, and he was completely gone now.

"Fucking idiot...there's no way those two guys would go down that easily..." Shinjiro said as he laughed quietly and walked away.

* * *

Ren and Mika entered Tartarus and saw the interior fo Tartarus. "This interior never fails to amaze me..." Mika said as she stretched. Ren looked around for the shadow and checked the note to make sure it was the right time.

But then, a huge metal block fell in front of them, and both Ren and Mika jumped back in instinct. A black mist formed in the center of the lobby, and two people formed in front of them. "Well, well, well. Two insolent little brats." The woman on the left said. The man on the right laughed and cleared his throat.

"We were busy making up more excuses to Kawakami so we can gain more cash. What the hell do you kids want?" The man said. Ren gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Why are you doing this to her? Hasn't she had enough?" Ren exclaimed. The man laughed even harder this time. "Enough? There's never enough money to satisfy ME!" The man said. The woman also laughed and nodded aggressively.

"You kids should try it too. Just coincidentally have your parents killed, and blame someone for a heap of cash for a lifetime!" The woman said as she clasped onto the man's arm. The man laughed hysterically in agreement.

Mika, on the other hand, was looking down, shaken. "Par...ents...?" Mika mumbled. Ren noticed and turned around towards her. "Mika! Are you alright?" Ren said. Ren shook Mika, but Mika didn't look up. She was shaking, and she clasped her head in pain. "Parents...parents...PARENTS?!" Mika screamed and her eyes were widened like a total psycho. "YOU'LL FUCKING PAY FOR WHAT YOU JUST SAID!" Mika said as she put the Evoker to her head. "PERSONA!" Mika said as she pulled the trigger, and Thantanos appeared behind her, surrounded by blue flames.

"That's the spirit, kiddo!" The man said. "Well, sweety looks like our talking time is over." The man said as he looked at the woman. The woman smiled and nodded. "Let's teach these clueless brats about how adult take care of problems, shall we?" The woman said as he grabbed the man's hand. As they continued grabbing each other's hand, they soon turned back into a black mist, and the mist built up all the way to around 3 meters, and a huge shadow formed in front of Ren and Mika's eyes.

"Thanatos! Tempest Slash!" Mika said angrily as she ordered her persona to seek and destroy. Her persona roared and charged into the shadow. "Ooh. Not bad. But not as good as this-!" The shadow said as it grabbed Mika's persona by its hands, and slammed it across the floor. It slid all the way back to Mika and eventually crashed into Mika as a whole. Because of this collision, Mika was thrown to a nearby pillar, which a part of her spine cracked in the result. The shadow laughed and bounded her persona with the same metal block from just now.

"AHHHHHHH!" Mika screamed as she fell to the floor, and grabbed her back in utter misery and pain. "F-fuck!" Mika said as she tried to stand up but eventually fell back down because of her immense back pain. "Mika!" Ren shouted across the hall of Tartarus. Mika looked at Ren and shook her head. "Just go! You can kill it by yourself, right?" Mika said. "I know you can! Kill that huge piece of human trash!" Mika said. Mika collapsed to her floor right away soon after.

Ren turned back to the shadow, and soon his clothes changed to his Phantom Thief outfit. His mask formed on his face, and he glared at the shadow. "This is for Mika and Ms. Kawakami!" Ren shouted as he put his hands on his mask, and his mask emitted blue flames. "Satanael! Cosmic Flare!" Ren said as his persona appeared in front of him, and Satanael pointed his finger at the shadow, and the nuclear blast covered the shadow, and the shadow screamed in pain.

"Yeah, not so fond of pain, aren't ya?" Ren said as he grinned. The smoke cleared, and when Ren thought it was all over, the same metal block from before almost crashed into him, but Ren narrowly avoided it by jumping to his left. "You're quite the pest! You're doing absolutely nothing!" The shadow said. Ren grinned. "Then that means I'm doing my job correctly." Ren said as he pushed back, and Mika's persona, Thanatos, finally used Tempest slash, and the shadow fell to its knees due to the damage. "Kuh..." The shadow groaned. Mika and Ren both looked at each other and nodded.

"Thanatos!" Mika said. "Satanael!" Ren said. Ren grabbed his mask, and Mika held the Evoker to her head. "Maeigaon!" Ren said as his mask burned into blue flames. "Megidola!" Mika said as she pulled the trigger. The two personas emitted huge blue rays of energy, and soon covered the shadow completely, and the shadow's scream was louder than ever.

And to top it all off, Fuuka and Morgana were watching all of this. Fuuka was gasping every second she saw it, and Morgana was cheering them on silently and decided not to show up because he was afraid it might affect the flow of their battle rhythm if he just popped out of nowhere.

The smoke cleared once again, and the shadow finally seemed to be weakened. But seeing how both Mika and Ren used one of their most powerful abilities, both their personas and themselves were exhausted. "Mika...I'm going to...give you...rest of my...energy..." Ren said as he huffed and puffed in exhaustion, and went near Mika. Mika avoided him by taking a step back. Ren looked up with widened eyes. "Why...?" Ren asked.

"Don't you...dare...pussy out...of this one..." Mika said as she was also exhausted. "We're going...to finish this...together..." Mika said as she got close to Ren, and grabbed his hand. Ren felt her warmth and nodded. "Together..." Ren said. Both of them slowly walked towards the pained shadow, and the shadow screamed in rage.

"YOU FUCKING BRATS!" The shadow said as he lifted the metal block telekinetically again, and split it into small pieces of metal shards. Morgana noticed what was going to happen, and looked at Fuuka right away. "Fuuka, I'm heading out!" Morgana said. Morgana ran out, and Fuuka followed. Morgana didn't' realize Fuuka was following him and continued to charge against the shadow.

"Take this!" Morgana said as he jumped, and when he was right about to summon his persona, the metal shards that were supposed to go to Ren and Mika all headed towards Morgana, and Morgana managed to dodge a few thanks to his sly movement, but he took a few deep cuts. Thanks to this, he couldn't summon his persona, and he collapsed onto the floor behind Ren and Mika, who were already helpless.

"MORGANA!" Ren exclaimed. He tried to go get him, but the metal shards blocked his way, as it was thrown in front of him as a warning shot. "You fools...! Now you will pay with your blood!" The shadow said.

"No...! I can't let this happen!" Fuuka said to herself. She didn't know what to do. She had this silver gun, but she didn't know how to use it either. She continued hiding behind the pillars, and she began to drop tears. "Ren...Mika...I'm so sorry..." Fuuka said as she sobbed and grabbed onto the Evoker tightly.

"Fuuka..." A voice said around her. Fuuka opened her eyes, and in front of her was that same auburn-haired girl she saw back at the train. She was looking at Fuuka straight in her eyes, and she then grabbed Fuuka's shoulders and grabbed her Evoker. "Fuuka. You're strong, and you've already proven enough that you are capable. And this one-shot is going to seal the deal. You got it?" Minako said to Fuuka, as she handed the Evoker to Fuuka. "B-but, how do I use this?" Fuuka asked Minako hurriedly, as time was running out.

Minako didn't say anything and began taking backward steps. "W-wait!" Fuuka said as she stretched her hand out to Minako. Minako giggled. "Just let your hand do the talking, and your mind does the rest. That's how you use it. " Minako said as she completely disappeared into the darkness now.

"My hands..." Fuuka said. She put the Evoker onto her left hand, and slowly loosened her hands. She breathed in and out and closed her eyes. Her hand instinctively went to her head, and the tip of the Evoker was on Fuuka's head now. She walked out of the pillar, and soon behind Morgana, who was heavily injured, and behind Ren and Mika.

"This is where your journey ends!" The shadow said as the metal shards now began to break into small pellets, and the pellets began charging at both Ren and Mika. Mika cringed and closed her eyes, and Ren put his head down.

Fuuka ran towards the two and pushed them to the floor, and shot her Evoker. "PERSONA!" Fuuka shouted as her persona appeared, and Fuuka was inside her persona, Lucia. Her persona deflected all the pellets, and the shadow took a small step back in hesitation. "W-what the hell...?" The shadow said.

Fuuka opened her eyes inside her persona, and gave the shadow the scariest glare in the world, as her eyes began to twitch. The shadow flinched and began to take a bit more steps backward. "Lucia...Healing breeze." Fuuka said. A green wave spun around Mika and Ren, and soon they felt the energy flow into their bodies again. And the wave then went to Morgana, whose body was then fully healed from the scars and cuts, and all the metal shard dropped out of his body.

"Ren...Mika...please defeat that shadow for good!" Fuuka said through her telepathy, as she was inside of the glass orb that was in her persona. Mika shook a little in surprise. "I never knew you had telepathy...but alright! Let's tear this shadow a new one!" Mika said as she grabbed Ren. "In fact, you should do the honors, Ren. You're the one that wanted to defeat this shadow at first place, wasn't it?" Mika said as she winked at him. Ren nodded.

Ren grabbed his mask and the mask turned into blue flames. "Satanael...Megidolaon!" Ren said as he glared at the collapsed shadow. The shadow tried to run away by taking a few steps back, but the Megidolaon attack soon grabbed it in, and the shadow screamed in misery and agony. "NOOOO!" The shadow said as it began losing all of it health and energy. Mika, Ren, Morgana, and Fuuka watched as the huge ray of light began consuming the shadow.

* * *

After the shadow disappeared, all there was left was the shadow of the corrupt parents. They were both on the floor, defeated. Ren walked towards them as Fuuka was finishing healing Morgana and Mika. They all stopped to look at Ren and the shadows. Ren looked down at both of them and snickered. "So how does it feel to feel the same pain that Ms. Kawakami feels every day?" Ren said. Both of them didn't answer, and Ren sighed.

"You made a mistake. You fucked up. But guess what? You're still alive, and that means you can still fix it. I want you both to wake up tomorrow and turn yourself to the police of everything you've done to her so far, and ask them to support Ms. Kawakami as much as possible. Got it?" Ren said. The two shadows vigorously nodded, and Ren smiled.

"Good. Now go on. Go back to your rightful owners." Ren said as he shooed them away. The two shadows faded away into golden dust and disappeared in front of Ren's sight completely. Ren sighed and walked back to the group. "You really did well, Ren-kun!" Fuuka said cheerfully. Ren rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "No, no. If it weren't for your support, we would've been both dead by now." Ren said. Mika nodded in joy. "Yep! It's all thanks to you Fuuka!" Mika said. Morgana continued to look down in guilt. "If we did go back and not come in here...Ren and Mika both would've died..." Morgana said in a sad tone. Fuuka noticed and crouched down to Morgana, and rubbed his head.

"H-hey, what?!" Morgana said. Fuuka giggled and continued rubbing its head. "T-that's not going to...make me...feel...bet...ter..." Morgana slowly gave into Fuuka's great petting ability and began rolling on the floor. "Nyyyyyaaa~!" Morgana said like a cat that was drunk. Ren, Mika, and Fuuka all laughed simultaneously, and from a distance, watching all of this was Minako.

"They look happy..." Minako said as she looked at them from far away behind the pillar. As Mika was turning around and stretching after the laugh, she noticed Minako behind the pillar, as she saw her auburn hair flicking around. Mika grinned and sneaked up on her, as she took small baby steps to not get caught. Soon enough, she was right in front of the pillar where Minako was hiding behind. Mika reached out her hands towards the back of the pillar, where Minako was standing.

"BOO!" Mika said as she tried to grab onto Minako's eyes, but she couldn't calculate the height properly and accidentally fondled her breasts instead. "Wait...were eyes this soft and large?" Mika said in a curious tone. Mika grabbed it again, and Minako screamed. "Kya!" Minako said as she came out of the pillar and slapped Mika in the face. Mika noticed what she just did and apologized. "I-I'm sorry!" Mika said. Minako was shaking and soon turned around to face Mika. "A-are you-"

"N-no, I'm all okay. Thanks." Minako said. Mika's worry soon turned into a smile, and Mika put an arm around her shoulder. "Sorry about the slap...I must've done it really hard." Minako said as she looked at her hand, and at Mika's face, which half of her cheeks were red because of it. Mika shook her head. "No, it's my fault for suddenly going for your tits." Mika said as she rubbed her cheeks. "But still...you're larger then I thought." Mika said as she looked at Minako, then down to her chest. Minako covered her chest in retaliation. "Hey, eyes up here, buddy!" Minako said. Mika laughed it off and noticed her facial expression was suddenly going a bit dark.

"Hey, hey, what's with the long face? Come on, let's go." Mika said. Minako looked at her in confusion. "Go where at this time of day?" Minako said as she wanted to remind Mika that when the Dark Hour ends it's still early in the morning.

"You'll see. Come on, guys! Minako's here! Let's go get some quick snacks before we get back!" Mika said as she waved at the group, and the group stood up and ran towards Mika and Minako. Minako smiled, for the first time she came back to this dimension.

Minako followed Mika to the group, and all of them waved at Minako. Minako smiled internally because of this. _"Maybe I can be happy again..."_ Minako thought to herself, as Fuuka hugged her. Morgana didn't see her before, but he was still happy to see another persona user. Minako noticed Morgana and looked at Mika. "Does this cat...also have a persona?" Minako asked. Mika nodded. "Yeah. But he went out like a bitch just now, so you wouldn't have been able to see his persona anyway." Mika said as she looked at Morgana. "Way to go, pal."

"Hey! I was only tried to save you guys..." Morgana said with an actual disappointment. Ren picked up Morgana and nodded. "He might joke around a bit, but when he wants to help, he always tries to." Ren said. Morgana nuzzled around Ren's chest in approval. "You always have my back, partner!" Morgana said. Ren smiled. "Anytime."

* * *

The five persona users left Tartarus as the Dark Hour was soon about to end. Mika and Ren walked alongside together, Morgana was hogged by Fukka and Minako, and Minako was constantly touching Morgana's paws. Morgana didn't hate it, but the fact that she was so attached to his paws were...a bit weird. "Why do you like rubbing his paws so much, Minako-chan?" Fuuka asked. Minako thought about it for a while, but couldn't come back with a good answer. "I'm not sure. I just...like the feeling of it rubbing on my fingers." Minako said as she continued to rub it constantly.

Mika and Ren were discussing what to do at this time of day. It was roughly around 1:20 AM and all the stores that they knew would be closed by now. "How about we try going to the mall?" Ren asked. "The mall closes after 12, smartass." Mika said. Ren rubbed his chin and couldn't think of anything else. Mika sighed and put her arms behind the back of her head. "Well, I guess its back to the dorm then." Mika said. Ren nodded. "Plus, the senpais are going to have a lot of question on why we came back AFTER the Dark Hour ended." Ren said. "And they're going to have more questions if we come back anymore later." Ren reclarified. Mika groaned in annoyance.

"I guess the Fuuka-persona-awakening party has to wait then..." Mika said. Mika then turned around to the three behind her and shouted. "Hey! I think we're going to have to go our separate ways now!" Fuuka nodded and soon gave Morgana to Minako. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Fuuka said cheerfully as she waved and walked off into the big streets towards the buses and trains. The four waved back at Fuuka, and Ren and Mika looked at Minako. "So where do you live?" Ren asked. Mika nudged Ren in the sides hard, and Ren winced in pain. "That's not what you ask a girl!" Mika said. "I was only curious!" Ren said.

"I don't have a home, really. I sleep on the streets." Minako said. Ren and Mika both looked at her in shock. "B-but, why?" Mika asked. "Why? Because I don't belong anywhere in this dimen-I mean, world." Minako said as she quickly retracted the word in the sentence. But Ren didn't ignore this and pressed on. "Wait. What were you about to say just now." Ren asked. Minako flinched and shook her head. "N-nothing! It wasn't anything special-"

 _"Dimension...? Then does this mean?"_ Ren thought to himself. Ren turned to Mika and Morgana and spoke with them first. "Mika. Get back to the dorm first. I have something to take care of with Minako." Ren said as he neared Minako. Minako was giving fake laughs, but Ren was taking none of it. "Oh, and take Morgana with you too. I don't want this to involve anyone else but me." Ren said. Mika slowly nodded, and Morgana jumped into her arms. As they both took off, Ren and Minako were the only ones standing in the middle of the cold morning alleyway.

Ren sat down on the wooden bench next to him and sighed. "So, what brings you to this dimension?" Ren said as he looked at the night sky. Minako sighed and sat next to him on the bench. "I just...I don't know why I'm here." Minako said as he put a hand on her face. Ren looked at her in disappointment. "There's got to be a reason why another Wild Card is in this dimension." Ren said. Minako nodded, but still had a conflicted look on her face.

"...Would you believe me if I told my side of the story?" Minako said as she looked at Ren, a bit teary eyed. Ren looked at her and nodded. "Anything's better than nothing. Shoot." Ren said as Minako was also stared at the night sky. She loosened her ponytail and her hairclips, and her medium length hair came down to the back of her shoulders. The wind made her hair dance in the middle of the night, and Minako began talking.

"I was the original Wild Card in this dimension. But I'm dead in this dimension, so I'm technically a ghost." Minako said. Ren looked at her but turned back to the night sky. "Go on." Ren said. Minako sighed and continued. "I was also part of SEES and was their field leader. We eliminated shadows back on forth on every Full Moon, and when we finished off the last shadow, we thought everything was going to be over." Minako said. Ren nodded in acknowledgment. "Got to the first one today." Ren said. Minako nodded.

"But later we found out that killing those shadows would lead to an extremely powerful figure gaining energy from it." Minako said. "And that figure, was death itself. It fueled from the energies of the defeated shadows, and that bastard Ikutski was the one that planned all of this." Minako said as she clenched her hands into a fist. Ren looked at her and nodded.

"I eventually had to sacrifice myself to protect the whole world through something called a Great Seal. It would prevent the world from ending, but it would kill me at the same time." Minako said as she looked down at the stone cold floor, and fidgeted with her fingers. "I thought I'd sacrifice myself, but there was another boy, a blue-haired boy who conducted the same seal...so he became the Seal, and I was left in the darkness, alone, until I spawned into this one for no reason." Minako said as she sighed again. Ren looked at her with sorry eyes.

"Jesus... you went through a lot..." Ren said. Minako nodded. "I still feel immense guilt for this...if I used the Great Seal a bit more earlier, then that boy wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself, instead here I am, enjoying life, unlike him." Minako said as she put her hands into her pockets. Both of them stay silent and watched the night sky until Ren spoke up.

"But anyway, don't kill those shadows, and try to kill Ikutski as soon as possible. Am I correct here?" Ren said. "Precisely. Saying it is easy, but actually doing it is going to be a pain. First, there's no way you can't kill a shadow and let it get away-"

"Well, well. Isn't it two of my favorite guests." A voice said from far away. Minako and Ren both stood up and got to their combat stance. "Who's there!" Minako screamed. The footsteps got closer, and Elizabeth showed up, shivering a bit. "I-It is certainly a b-bit cold today, don't you t-think?" Elizabeth said as she shivered. Her attire exposed her arms completely, so being in this cold temperature this early in the morning would definitely be regretful.

"Um, what's up?" Ren said. Elizabeth, instead of saying hello back, dug into her pockets and brought out another blue bag. Ren grabbed it and opened it. "It's a very special gift from my master. He saw you eliminating the shadow, and wants you to keep it. The instructions are in the bag." Elizabeth said. "Well, then off I go!" Elizabeth said as she ran off into the morning streets. Ren and Mika both stared at Elizabeth as if to process what just happened. "...Was she like that in your dimension also?" Ren asked Minako. Minako nodded. "She's really...weird. But that's her charm, really." Minako said as she smiled.

"Let's check this out then, shall we?" Ren said as she opened the blue bag, and inside were a small watch and a piece of paper. Minako took the paper before Ren could, and read it out loud. "'Stopwatch'. Wow, that's a simple name." Minako said as she read on. "This will be able to contain the powers of weakened Shadows and will be able to be used later on, even by a non-persona user." Minako read. Ren looked at the watch and noticed it pointed at 12:00 PM exactly. "The watch will progress further in time as you gain more energy into it. Eventually, when it hits 12 again, that would mean it is the maximum amount of energy you can put in. But the shadow must be weakened, and it must psychologically submit." Minako read out loud and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, it's...really useful." Minako said. Ren nodded. "I guess with this, we'll be able to prevent the shadow's energy from getting anywhere else." Ren said.

Minako nodded back, and stood up from the bench, and dusted her clothes. "So, you're still going back to the scrawny streets?" Ren said as he put his arms on his sides. Minako looked at him in confusion. "What are you up to?" Minako asked. Ren laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm saying, you should stay with us. Mitsuru-senpai will have no problem having another persona user here, wouldn't she?" Ren said. "In fact, she wants more persona users in the dorm, so there's no way she would disagree." Ren said again. "Well? Made up your mind?" Ren said towards Minako, who looked at Ren in shock and awe.

"Y-yeah!" Minako said as she pumped her fist in the air. "Alright!" Ren said as he did the same. The two Wild Cards laughed, and went back to the dorm, with both of their hands together. "But where will I sleep?" Minako asked. Ren stopped for a bit and rubbed his chin. "I think there are a lot of empty rooms around. I'm pretty sure you can take one of them." Ren said. Minako nodded. "Or I could just sleep on the couch. I mean, I got used to sleeping on almost anything these days." Minako said as she laughed. Ren laughed back and smiled. "It's good to see you so happy." Ren said. Minako blushed a little and nodded. "Y-yeah. It's thanks to you." Minako said. Ren shook his head. "Nah, you got out of your own misery. That's all." Ren said as he looked at the night sky, and the two Wild Cards walked along the morning alleyway, as Minako's untied auburn hair flew in the cold breeze.

From a distance, Elizabeth saw everything they just did and said. She smiled as she walked back to the Mall. "Everything is going to be fine, Master Igor..." She said as she sneezed, and ran as fast as she could back to the Velvet Room.

* * *

That was a looooooooong chapter (again). That was the first shadow after the one that was on the roof of the dorm, and I'm trying to balance out things with the character's personas.

First, Ren has Satanael. A persona that required hundreds of thousands of Yen, if not to the millions to fuse in P5. He himself is already overpowered, so it took a lot of effort to underpower everyone else's persona.

Second, Mika's is Thantanos. It's still in its early stages, and the user itself is a beginner, so it's less powerful then Ren's, but definitely can pack a punch.

Third, Morgana's is just normal Zorro. I was thinking to put it on his second awakening persona, Mercurius, but I thought with that and Satanael, it's going to be too strong. So I had to give him his normal persona.

Fourth, Fuuka's persona is just normal Lucia (although the Healing Wave isn't actually in P3, its actually a skill Fuuka has in PQ, but bear with me).

Fifth, Minako's persona is undecided yet, of whether I should go with Thantanos or Orpheus. We'll see in the future.

With the stopwatch, the shadow capturing is going to still go to plan, and they will now try to not kill the shadows, but obviously, it's not going to be just a walk in the park for them. I will make it harder eventually as the story progresses.

And killing Ikutski is...going to be even harder later on. You'll see eventually what I'm talking about.

Minako's backstory is revealed, and she is going to join SEES soon enough if anyone was wondering.

And that's it. I'll come back next week with another chapter, and try to make it better than this (maaaayybe).

Remember, if you don't like something, please do tell in the review. It helps me ALOT.

This is Edwards, signing off.


	9. Side Story: Re:Bye

This is a side story, and will come up every once in a while. This will be short, and will be supplement to help the plot.

* * *

Morning of March 5th, Minako opens her eyes, and she finds herself on the roof of the school, lying down on one of the benches nearby. Minako knew straight away from the familiar metal fencing, the wind turbines in the background, and the bright blue sky gave it off. She slowly wiped her eyes and heard a noise coming from the stairs.

"...H...ey!" The voice screamed. It was faint, but Minako could recognize who it was right away. Minako smiled and looked at the doors that Shinjiro was about to enter through. "Shinjiro..." Minako mumbled as she tried to hold her tears. Shinjiro finally opened the door, and he looked like he was completely out of breath. Since no one else was behind, he seemed to have ran all the way here, so he can come earlier than others.

Shinjiro ran towards Minako, who was lying down almost lifeless. Minako could hear Shinjiro's coughs and wheezes, and she giggled weakly. "Heh. So you did come after all." Minako said. Shinjiro blushed and looked away. "You shouldn't make a sick guy push himself so hard. It's pretty pathetic of me to forget the way I did." Shinjiro said as he coughed once. "But even then, my feelings for you were the same always." Shinjiro said as he snickered. "I got one thick skull, huh?"

"The girl I saw in my dreams...It was you...and you were crying and laughing like usual..." Shinjiro said as he softly laughed. Minako laughed back at him, but much weaker than usual. Shinjiro then embraced her tightly, and the two lovers sat next to each other, hugging for another good 10 seconds.

"Yeah...This ain't a dream..." Shinjiro said as he continued embracing her. "You're really here." Shinjiro said. Minako giggled and patted his beanie. "Of course I am...you idiot." Minako said. Shinjiro snickered again. "That behavior is still there, even at your last day. I'm not surprised. But I don't hate it. That's what made us together in the end." Shinjiro said as he finally let go. Minako continued to lay down on the bench, but she put her head on Shinjiro's lap instead.

Suddenly, a bunch of familiar voices and footsteps were heard, and Minako looked at the door again. "They're coming..." Minako said. Shinjiro nodded. "They really know how to ruin a good moment..." Shinjiro said. Minako continued to put her head on Shinjiro's lap, and Shinjiro swiped her hair constantly with his hands.

 **"In the bright sunlight and the warmth of your loved one's arms..."**

 **"You're getting sleepier..."**

 **"Your eyelids feel heavy..."**

Minako looked up at Shinjiro and put her hand on his cheeks. She smiled and dropped a tear. "H-hey, what are you-" Minako slowly closed her eyes, and Shinjiro smiled, and said the last thing she would hear from her lover.

"I'm glad I met you." Shinjiro said. Minako weakly nodded as her eyes were now half closed, and as her eyes closed, she dropped her arm completely from Shinjiro's cheeks. The others entered the roof now, and Shinjiro noticed something wasn't right. "...No. This can't be." Shinjiro said as he quickly checked for her pulse. He put his two fingers on her neck and hoped there would still be a movement.

There was nothing. Nothing came back. Shinjiro sat there in devastation, and he put his beanie down to his eyes and began tearing up. The others saw Shinjiro and looked in worry. "W-what's wrong, Shinjiro-senpai?" Fuuka asked.

"..." Shinjiro didn't look at them, instead answered with his tears, and his tears fell on the lifeless face of Minako. Fuuka gasped in surprise and the rest of the group gathered around Minako. "CALL THE AMBULANCE!" Mitsuru screamed. Junpei got to his phone, and Akihiko ran down the stairs to get more help.

"Why..." Shinjiro mumbled under his teared up voice.

* * *

Minako stood where no one stood before. An empty void that belonged to no one. She waved around her hand, and nothing came in reach. It was like as if she was blind, and was standing in the literal darkness itself. She put her hands around her skirt, and she noticed she had her Evoker in her strap.

Then suddenly, a red and yellow flame flashed in front of Minako's eyes, and she could finally see her hands. Another flame flashed in front, then another, then another, and another. The flames continued to flash until Minako could finally see that where she was standing was a blue room, with a desk in front. And obviously, it was Igor, who was sitting there.

Minako hurriedly approached Igor. "H-hey, Igor, what's going on? I thought I'm dead...!" Minako said as she slammed the table. Igor nodded. "Yes, my dear guest, you are dead, and therefore you must become the Seal. However..." Igor said as he pointed towards something behind her. A blue-haired boy stood with his hands on his face, sobbing a little.

"...You can't have TWO Great Seals." Igor said as he put up one finger. "Therefore, one of you can go back to your friends, but you'll start all over again, or even perhaps with some changes to that dimension." Igor said. "Now, please do discuss. In this room, time is non-existential, so you can take as much time as you like. And if that person is ready, grab this card with both hands, and rip it in half." Igor said as he laid down on his chair. Minako looked back at the blue-haired boy and went towards him.

"So...what's your name?" Minako asked. The boy looked up and spoke up. "Minato. Minato Arisato." The boy said as he wiped his tears. Minako looked in shock. "I'm...Minako Arisato. Nice to meet you." Minako said as she reached out her hand. Minato stood up and shook it.

"So...how'd you end up here?" Minako asked Minato. Minato sighed as he looked up at the blue ceiling of the room. "I had a lover. Her name was Aigis, and I was lying down on her legs as we both looked at the blue sky and the warm sunlight." Minato said. Minako looked down, once again in shock. "Aigis...was your lover?" Minako asked. Minato looked at Minako in confusion.

"Do...you know Aigis?" Minato asked. Minako nodded. "She was always a bit weird. But that was her charm, really." Minako said as she rubbed her cheeks and laughed softly. Minato nodded. "Yeah, she was probably one of the most fourth-dimensional person in SEES." Minato said. Minako stopped once again, as she noticed the striking similarities between her and Minato.

"...We're you also the leader for SEES?" Minako asked. Minato nodded. "Shinjiro also in your group?" Minako asked. Minato nodded but looked a little sad. "...He didn't live out until the end." Minato said. Minako looked down in sadness. Minato looked at her in curiosity. "Why? Was he your lover?" Minato asked. Minako nodded. "We had the same thing going on the roof, just like yours." Minako said.

"But until, you know," Minako said as she sighed. Minato nodded. "I understand." Minato said as he laid back on the wall. It was nice seeing her other counterpart, but at that moment, they both knew they had to make up their minds soon. They both stared into each other's eyes and looked away a little.

"So...I guess I'll go." Minako said as she stood up. Minato grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "I can't lose another important person. In fact, you have a long way to go." Minato said as she looked at her straight in the eye. Minako pulled away from his grip and smiled. "Thanks, but I already made up my mind."

Minato sighed and pulled out something from his pockets. Minako continued walking up to the table, not noticing Minato was following her. Minato jumped onto Minako and stabbed her left hand with the short dagger he had in his pockets. "FUCK!" Minako cried out as she pulls out the dagger. She couldn't because the dagger was bound to her hand and the floor. "You...you can't! Aigis is waiting for you!" Minako shouted towards Minato. Minato held the card and looked at Minako.

"But Shinjiro-senpai is also, you know that right?" Minato said. "Plus, I promised Aigis that I'll be strong, and through this, I'll protect everyone...!" Minato said as he began ripping the card in half.

Minako barely managed to pull out the dagger, and blood flowed out of the center of her palm. Minako charged against Minato and ripped the card in half at that very moment. Minako stopped in front of him, as they both began glowing in blue.

"But...why?" Minako said as she began tearing up. "I already lost enough, and I'm about to lose you! Why are you doing this to me!" Minako screamed at Minato in anger. Minato was fading away now, along with Minako. He smiled and put a hand on her cheeks.

"Because now, unlike me, you can regain what you lost as you go back to your place." Minato said as he smiled. Minako stood still until she collapsed onto the floor and began crying profusely. She rubbed her face with Minato's hand. "...Thank...you..." Minako sobbed. Minato nodded, as both of their torso was completely faded away now. Minako looked at him for one last time and his smile.

"Remember, have fun. And don't hurt yourself." Minato said, as both of them now faded away. Igor, who still stood there, looked down in guilt. "I am deeply sorry, my dear guests..." Igor said as the room began to fade away also.

* * *

Minako opened her eyes, and she still felt the tears inside the train. "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay. Next stop is, Iwatodai." The announcer said. She ignored the announcer, and put both her hands on her face, and began breaking down.

"Why...why..." Minako said as she couldn't believe the amount of guilt she had in her heart. The train stopped, and a frizzly haired boy and a beige-haired girl left the train, and Minako sat there, defeated.


	10. New:Bonds

Ren and Minako came back to the dorm, and Minako stretched her entire body as she entered the kitchen. She opened the fridge and sighed. "Oh right...Shinjiro isn't here yet." Minako said as she saw the fridge was nearly empty. Minako looked a bit regretful that she mentioned Shinjiro's name because she died right in front of his face last time. Minako slammed the fridge door, closed it, and rushed upstairs, avoiding any forethoughts about Shinjiro. Ren looked around for Mitsuru and Akihiko, but they weren't anywhere to be found. Ren sighed, and turned off the lights to the living room, and went upstairs.

As Ren walked upstairs, he heard a weeping noise around the corner, and when he finished climbing the stairs, he saw Minako lying down and crying in one of the sofas. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ren said as he quickly made his way to Minako. Minako picked her head up and tried to wipe her tears when she realized Ren was right in front of her. "I-I'm alright." Minako said. "Crying miserably is not the first sign of happiness, as far as I'm aware." Ren said as he saw a box of tissues on the coffee table in front, and grabbed the box. "Here. This might make you happier than right now." Ren said as he handed the box of tissues to Minako. Minako chuckled and grabbed a few. "You really do know how to cheer a person up, don't you?" Minako said as she forced a smile.

"Yeah, but it ain't going to do any good if you make a fake smile like that." Ren said as he put his two fingers on the edge of Minako's lips, and stretched it up, making a smile. "There. All done!" Ren said as he laughed. "I gotta say, you look better like this." Ren said as Minako swung her hand against Ren. "G-geez, don't push your luck!" Minako said. Ren looked at her with a sarcastically sad look. "Aww...But I thought you liked it!" Ren said sarcastically. Minako swung her head away from Ren, then Ren laughed and grabbed her head to face him again.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop. But answer me one question." Ren said. Minako nodded. "Go ahead." Minako said as she crossed both her arms. Ren looked around to make sure no one is outside in the halls and asked away.

"...So, did you have a lover back when you were alive?" Ren asked. Minako stopped and looked away from Ren, as she was once again beginning to tear up again. Ren noticed and sighed. "...It's alright. You don't need to-"

"No, I need to get this out of my chest somehow. I think it'll make me feel better if I tell you the full story." Minako said as he wiped her eyes with the box of tissues Ren just gave her.

Minako talked about how she met Shinjiro, how he saved her and how she saved him, and the proposal that she would never forget. The times they both fought and both helped each other, and the beginning of March. Minako could never forget his warm hands and the feeling of his lap. The warm sunlight that covered the two lovers on the roof, was something she would never forget.

"..." Ren was silent and didn't say a single word. He was devastated, because of how much they cared for each other, but to lose the other half of himself, right in front of his eyes, was just unbearable. Minako looked up at the ceiling, and Ren looked at her with remorse. "I'm...sorry for your loss." Ren said. Minako shook her head. "No, in fact, I feel much better now, since I let it all out. I feel really refreshed." Minako said as she gave a genuine smile this time. Ren smiled back also.

"But...how does this guy look like?" Ren asked. "Tall and has a beanie on his head. Basically his signature attire." Minako said. "Wait, I think I saw him before." Ren said. Minako looked at Ren in shock. "R-really?" Minako asked. Ren nodded. "But he didn't say anything special, only things like, 'Oh, you're Mitsuru's soldiers', or 'Have fun being a slave' or something like that. He didn't seem to be too fond of SEES for some reason." Ren said. Minako sighed with her arms back against her head. "He has his own reasons, and I know all of it. But I'm going to save it for later because he doesn't like it when people he doesn't know find out about his secrets." Minako said. Ren looked at the time, and it was already around 3 in the morning.

"I think we should sleep before it gets anywhere later than 4." Ren said as he stood up from the sofa. Minako also stood up and nodded. "Yeah. But Mitsuru or Akihiko or Yukari doesn't even know I'm here?" Minako asked. "I mean if they find out you have another girl sleeping in your room..." Minako looked down in worry and guilt. Ren shook his head. "I'm going to sleep on the couch today. You can take the futon because Mika is going to hog the bed all by herself. But then again, if you ask her nicely, she might let you. Might." Ren said as he grabbed a couch pillow and went downstairs.

"Oh, and one last thing." Ren said as he looked back, and put his hands in his pockets, and brought out the small blue notebook. "I'll give you some of it, so you can handle your own problems too." Ren said as he ripped around 5 or 6 pages of paper to Minako. Minako put the paper in her hands and looked at the paper. "...How do you use this again?" Minako asked. Ren put the notebook back in his pockets and yawned. "I'll tell you when I'm fully awake tomorrow." Ren said as he rubbed his eyes. Minako nodded.

"Well then, sweet dreams." Ren said as he waved. Minako waved back, and the two made their separate ways in the dorm. Minako walked towards the room at the end of the hallway and gulped. "This feels...weird." Minako said as Ren's room was actually Minako's room back when she was still alive in the other dimension.

Minako slowly put her hands on the handle of the door and opened the door. In the room, was Mika, who was lying down on the floor with her chest facing the floor. "Whatchu doing?" Minako asked. Mika didn't respond, and Minako was beginning to look a bit worried, so she crouched down to her. "Is something wrong?" Minako asked.

Mika jolted straight up and looked at Minako with wide eyes. "I have to wear a maid costume tomorrow..." Mika mumbled to Minako. Minako gasped and leaned in. "To who? Did you lose a dare? Get blackmailed?" Minako asked with a serious tone. Mika shook her head. "I...did it on my own decision." Mika said. Minako looked at Mika dumbfoundedly and grabbed her shoulders.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY YES TO THAT?!" Minako said as she shook Mika's body like she's shaking a bag of gold. Mika had a facial expression of a knocked out fighter, and her entire body was loose. As Minako shook her more, her body turned more liquid.

Minako realized this, sighed, and stopped. "...Would it make you feel better if I help you along?" Minako said as he let go of Mika. Mika shook and looked at Minako straight in the eye. "W-why?!" Mika said. Minako sighed again and leaned against the floor of the bed. "I have a lot of things to owe you and Ren. Honestly, before I met you and Ren, I thought I was hopeless in this world, all alone, and I was planning to go insane." Minako said as she looked at Mika. "I met you guys, and you guys helped me find what I lost..." Minako said as she began to tear up again. She quickly hid it and cleaned it before Mika noticed. "Ah...Either way, if it brings Ren happiness, then I'm planning to do it because I have a lot to thank him for." Minako said.

"Yeah, that's good and all, but what about me?" Mika said as she pointed at herself. Minako shrugged. "I dunno. It's your fault for even mentioning it to him." Minako said. Mika twitched, and Minako laughed. "Just kidding, just kidding. But think about it, wouldn't you like it to see him happy?" Minako said. Mika hesitated for a bit and nodded slowly in agreement. "Y-yeah, but this isn't the way I wanted to give him happiness!" Mika exclaimed with her face red. Minako grinned. "Why? You thought of other ways to give him happiness, perhaps? Hm?" Minako said as she leaned her face again Mika's, and Mika's face grew redder. "W-w-what?!" Mika said as she began steaming.

"Anyways, let's call it day. I'm feeling really tired." Minako said as she stood up. "Oh, and can I sleep with you today?" Minako asked Mika with a smile. Mika sighed and nodded. "But I never knew that's the way you roll...Asking a girl to sleep with you in the same bed..." Mika said as she slowly covered her chest with her arms. "I'm going to take that as a yes. Anyway, good night." Minako said as she went near the lamp and she turned it off.

"Good night to you too, auburn hair." Mika said. Minako giggled and jumped into the bed next to her. They both cuddled up and laughed with each other and soon slept as they embraced each other.

"Sleep tight, beige-hair." Minako said as she put her head next to Mika's, and dreamed of the sweet recovery that Minako will bring tomorrow.

* * *

Ren woke up from the floor and groaned. The floor that his head was on was a little sunk, possibly from Ren falling from the couch and slamming his head onto the floor. Ren looked at the sunken floor in wonder. "I must have a really thick skull..." Ren said as he rubbed his head. He stood up and walked towards the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator.

"Empty, past expiration date, blank box, empty, empty, and empty..." Ren said as he constantly searched through the fridge. At this point, he almost blanked out the entire fridge, as everything in it was either bad or was just a packaging with nothing inside. "Does this dorm seriously use the fridge as a secondary trash can?" Ren said as he sighed and packed the trash into the black plastic bag. He tied the end of the bag tight, so the contents don't spill. He opened the front door, carried the black plastic bag outside, and threw it into the trash can.

Ren dusted his hands and blew a huge wind in the air with his sigh, and looked at the morning sky. "Now I know why old folks like to wake up in the morning so much..." Ren said as he took off his glasses and stared at the half blue and half navy sky, and the sunrise on the horizon that gave it a faint bit of orange.

"..." Ren continued to stare until he sat down on the stairs and put his head on his shoulders. "I wonder when I can go back..." Ren said to himself as he held onto his chest. Ren then checked the time and realized he needed to get prepared for school.

"Heyyyy!" A voice said to Ren as he was about to open the door. He recognized the voice and smiled, before even turning back to face her.

"Ms. Kawakami! You look happy this morning." Ren said as he turned around and faced her. Ms. Kawakami was all smiles and positivity, as she looked like she was about to blast off into space with all her happiness. "So, what got you this happy early in the morning?" Ren asked. "Glad you asked!" Ms. Kawakami said as she brought out her phone.

"Look!" Ms. Kawakami said as she put the screen in front of Ren's face. Ren read it and smiled. "...So, you're off their chart now." Ren said as he crossed his arms. Ms. Kawakami nodded. "Yeah, and I can finally teach again!" Ms. Kawakami said as she pumped her fist into the air. "God, I can't wait to give out an extenuating amount of homework and quizzes to my students again!" Ms. Kawakami said. Ren shivered at the thought of this happening if she becomes his teacher. _"I hope she gets us off easy..."_ Ren thought to himself.

"Oh, and do you know where that beige-haired girl is? I heard that this is her school dorm." Ms. Kawakami said. Ren nodded. "Yeah. This is a co-ed dorm. We both share the same room." Ren said and soon regretted saying it. Ms. Kawakami raised a mischievous eyebrow at Ren. "So homework isn't the only thing you do in there..." Ms. Kawakmia sarcastically said as she rubbed her chin. Ren shook his head and laughed. "Well, I do like to do my laundry in my room too, thank you." Ren said. Ms. Kawakami laughed back. "I'm just kidding, of course. You know I'd never say that in front of my students." Ms. Kawakami said.

 _"I'd never think Ms. Kawakami had this kind of humor...but oh well, everything is well, so it's all fine."_ Ren thought to himself. "Well, I have to prepare for school today. Don't you also have somewhere to go?" Ren said. Ms. Kawakami flinched. "Right! The bank! Thanks for reminding me!" Ms. Kawakami said. Ren nodded. "Welcome." Ren said. Ms. Kawakami zoomed into the distance, as she waved back at Ren. Ren waved back also.

"It's a good thing she's happy now..." Ren said. Ren opened the door to the dorm and went upstairs. He opened the door and was faced with two girls that were cuddling each other in the same bed. "I wonder what got them THAT close..." Ren said as he headed for the wardrobe. He opened it and got his uniform. He grabbed his uniform and headed to the bathroom. He locked the door and began changing.

Meanwhile, Minako soon opened her eyes and saw the morning light flashing into the windows. Minako sat on the bed and stared at the wall for 3 minutes, doing absolutely nothing, until she deiced to wake Mika up in the only way possible.

She poked her fingers against Mika's face and did it until Mika slapped it off. Minako groaned and decided to leave her be, as she didn't want to cause any trouble for her. She stood up from the bed and yawned, perhaps a bit too loudly. Minako then went near the mirror and grabbed a few hairpins and hair ties and begin doing her hair. She put the hairpins into a specific arrangement on her hair and tied her hair back with both her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror, and sighed deeply, as she realized where she was and what she was going to do.

"I guess the journey starts again for me..." Minako said. She looked at Mika and stared at her sleeping like a kid. She recalled to yesterday when she was hiding from the group initially. She saw Ren's persona was called Satanael, and it was possibly the strongest out of all. Morgana's persona was Zorro, and had an average amount of strength, but not as strong as Ren's. Fuuka had her Lucia, like always, but what bothered Minako was Mika's persona.

"Thanatos...Arcana of death..." Minako said as she looked at Mika, who was still sleeping peacefully. Minako bit her lips in conflict, as she knew what this was going to lead to. "So it's either going to be her...or me..." Minako said. Minako began shaking a little and put both her hands on her head. "B-but...I don't want to die..." Minako said. "But I don't want her to...die either...!" Minako said as she shook her head in denial furiously.

"Still contemplating over things that didn't happen yet?" A voice said in front of her. Minako looked up and fell from her chair, and Ren was leaning against the wall in front of her. "...Yeah." Minako said as she looked away from Ren. Ren took a step towards Minako and crouched down to her eye distance. "People who are stuck at the past or future have no hope in the present time. And if you don't know how to stop worrying over shit that you're not even sure of, then get the hell out of here. You got that?" Ren said. Minako looked at Ren, stunned.

"Ren..." Minako said as she began tearing up. Ren sighed and wiped her tears with his hands. "Are you the kind of person to have THIS much tears?" Ren asked. "I wasn't like this...but..." Minako was cut off by her own tears. Ren continued cleaning her eyes from the tears, and he heard rustling behind him.

Ren looked back, and Mika was gone from the bed. Ren felt a cold aura around next to him, and he turned to the direction of that aura. Mika was sitting right behind Ren and was staring at Ren with her arms crossed, looking as pissed off as ever. "What were you doing just now?" Mika asked. Ren began to sweat a little for no reason. "I-I was helping Minako out because she was having a hard time adapting to this place." Ren said. Minako nodded. "Y-yeah!" Minako said as she smiled. Mika stared at the two for a bit, until she stood up and went towards the wardrobe. She grabbed her uniform and looked back at the two.

"Ren, make sure she doesn't get hurt, alright? I'll blame you if you even get a single scratch on her." Mika said as she walked into the bathroom with her uniform in her hands. Ren nodded and looked at Minako. Minako was confused about what just happened, and she sat back on her chair and began doing her makeup. Ren beamed with happiness on his face, and put his hands on Minako's shoulders. "Hey! What's the big deal!" Minako said as she looked back at Ren. "You got Mika to care about you. That's a pretty difficult feat to achieve." Ren said as he let go. Minako nodded. "She does look like the thick type to see through, so I guess that would make her a bit difficult to make friends with..." Minako said as she gave the final touches to her makeup. "Ta-dah! How do I look?" Minako said as she spun around the chair to face Ren. Ren rubbed his chin in deep analysis. He leaned in closer to Minako, which Minako suddenly grew red over. "W-welcome to my personal space! Now give it back!" Minako said as she pushed Ren away from her face with her finger. Ren groaned and scratched his head. "I dunno...I don't really see a difference, other than the fact that your face looks a bit brighter..." Ren said. Minako sighed and nodded. "I only applied some foundation, so it wouldn't turn me into a completely different person either way..." Minako said as she stood up. "So, you going to school?" Minako asked.

"Yeah. But before that, I need to somehow come up with a human way of saying 'Two girls slept in my room last night and I slept on the couch downstairs' to my senpais." Ren said. Minako looked a bit guilty for this, as she could've slept on the couch instead of Ren. "I'm...sorry. I already caused some trouble for you didn't I?" Minako said as she looked down. Ren shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'll find a way-"

"Do you remember what Mika told you yesterday?" Minako asked with a mischievous grin. Ren noticed her grin and shook his head. "I...actually don't." Ren said as he scratched his cheeks. Minako was about to say 'Mika and I will be a maid for you for a day', but seeing how he doesn't remember, she realized it would be better for her to keep herself silent about it.

"So, what is it?" Ren asked. Minako shook her head. "Nah, it's nothing. It's probably just something that flew over my head coincidentally." Minako said. Ren nodded a bit hesitantly. "O...kay." Ren said. "Anywho, I think you should come down with me." Ren said. Minako nodded and followed Ren. "We need to hurry before they leave." Ren said as he opened the door. "Hey, Mika! We'll be downstairs, so grab my stuff also when you come down!" Ren screamed across the room, so Mika hears his voice. "Ren you jerk!" Mika screamed inside the bathroom. Ren shrugged and made his way outside the door with Minako.

They both went down the stairs, and soon were met with the two senpais who were eating breakfast next to the kitchen, and Akihiko noticed Ren came downstairs with a girl he's never seen before. He dropped his toast to the plate and stood up immediately. "R-ren! Who is this cute girl and why is she coming from your room?!" Akihiko said as he pointed a finger at Ren. Minako smiled on the inside when Akihiko said 'cute' at her. Ren sighed and prepared for the worst. Mitsuru looked at Ren and rubbed her chin. But Akihiko nudged into her thought. "Ren isn't the type to bring in paid girls to his room either..." Akihiko said. Mitsuru glared at Akihiko and Akihiko sank into his seat quietly.

"Anyway, who is this girl, Amamiya? And is it really a prostitute?" Mitsuru said. Ren shook his head vigorously in denial, and Minako was somewhat nodding in agreement. _"I mean, I have been called like that for a while when I got immensely popular in school before, so why not."_ Minako thought to herself. Ren put a hand on her shoulder and began explaining what happened.

"Mika and I found her when we were fighting shadows yesterday. When Mika was down, she grabbed the Evoker and used her persona to protect both of us. After the fight, we found out she was homeless and had nowhere else to go." Ren explained as he looked at Minako. Minako nodded in confirmation. "True." Minako said simply. "But you don't even know my persona!" Minako whispered soon after towards Ren's ear. Ren ignored her and looked at his senpais, who were thinking Ren's words through. "I see...so she's a persona user." Mitsuru said. "But that still doesn't explain why she slept in your room." Akihiko said. "Another word that's not important to this conversation, and I will execute you." Mitsuru said towards Akihiko, as Mitsuru tapped on her Evoker that was in her holster. Akihiko gulped and sank back down to his seat. Again.

Mitsuru then stood up from her seat and walked towards Ren and Minako. She examined Minako carefully, from top to bottom. "That's the senpai I know..." Minako said to herself as she sighed internally. "I see now...If she really is a persona user, then I will have her enroll beginning from tomorrow." Mitsuru said. Ren nodded, and Minako nodded also. "I will report to the chairman as soon as possible." Mitsuru said. Minako and Ren both realized that shouldn't happen, and they both retaliated against that statement. "Actually, I'll go talk to him personally and introduce her to Ikutski-san. I wanted to talk to him anyway." Ren said. Minako nodded heavily and smiled at Ren, signaling him a 'good job' with her face.

"If that's the case, then I'll set a appoint with him right away." Mitsuru said. "Well, we need to go to school now. What's your last name?" Mitsuru asked Minako. "Arisato." Minako said. Mitsuru nodded and remembered it in her head. "Alright then Arisato, you can stay in Ren's room, but if I catch any weird activity in the room, I will have you executed." Mitsuru said. Minako smirked and Ren noticed her smile.

"No, Minako, you can't-" Minako ignored Ren and proceeded her plan. "Sorry senpai, but what is this 'execution' and..." Minako looked at Akihiko, and Akihiko flinched as he realized what she was going to say. "...can you show me an example?" Minako said as she smirked. Mitsuru also smirked and looked at the two boys in the dorm. They both froze in the spot and tried to divert their focus somewhere else. "S-sorry, the boxing club really needs me today. S-so I'll need to leave e-early." Akihiko studdered as he headed towards the door outside. "I-I need to get Mika. She's sleeping in again." Ren said as he headed towards the stairs but soon banged his head against Mika. "OW! WATCH IT!" Mika screamed. Mitsuru grinned, and Akihiko left the dorm with a sigh of relief.

But Ren, on the other hand, was sweating buckets. "O-oh! I was...going to bring her because she...just woke up!" Ren said with a forced smile. Mika looked at Ren weirdly as she had Morgana in her arms. "No, I didn't. You saw me wake up, you retard." Mika said as she flicked her hair. Ren shook and saw death in his eyes. Mitsuru slowly flicked open her gun holster, and Minako whispered into Mika's ears.

"We need to go...you wouldn't really want to see this." Minako said as she pulled Mika along. Mika went along with Minako's grip, as Mitsuru was staring at Ren as if she was about to murder him. Ren was shivering in fear, and as Mika, Minako, and Morgana left the dorm, they heard Ren's painful and horrifying scream beyond the door to the dorm. Mika and Minako both shivered, and Morgana was sleeping in Mika's arms. "L-let's go." Minako said. Mika nodded.

* * *

The three soon arrived at school, and the boys around the entrance were all murmuring around them. "Dude, look! It's Mika, and she's with another really hot girl!" A guy said. "Man, this is just amazing...two most pretty girls in school right in front of my eyes..." Another boy said with a bit of happiness and sadness mixed in his voice.

"Well? How'd you like the school?" Mika said as she stretched her arms across the sky, making the sleeping bag of black fur fall to the floor, and yelp in pain. "Ow! What was that for?" Morgana said as he scratched his head in irritation. "That's what happens when you oversleep. A person wakes you up no matter what." Mika said as she snickered. Morgana groaned and jumped into Minako's arms. "H-hey!" Minako said. But Morgana used his special ability to force Minako to hold her: cuteness. Morgana rubbed his head onto Minako's hands and rolled around constantly like a newborn baby, and Minako didn't know what to do but blush and giggled. "You really are cute, Morgana..." Minako said as she rubbed Morgana's head. "Meeeeooooowwww..." Morgana said in pleasure. Mika sighed and signaled Minako to come with her. Minako nodded and followed.

They soon made their way to the top floor, where the chairman's office was. Minako gulped nervously and took Morgana to a nearby bathroom. "Hey! Where are you going?" Mika asked. "Bathroom! I'll be quick!" Minako said as she rushed towards the girl's bathroom. "But why are you bringing Morgana with you?!" Mika asked in disbelief. Minako ignored her and entered the bathroom in urgency. Mika sighed, sat on a nearby bench, and waited for her to return.

As the two entered a bathroom stall, Morgana was looking around wonderfully. "So this is what a girl's bathroom looks like..." Morgana said. "Shhh!" Minako said as she was looking around to see anyone else was in the stalls. She poked her head under the walls and checked to see any feet in sight. There weren't any, and Minako sat back at the closed toilet in relief. She then looked at Morgana and asked away.

"Do you have the stuff I asked for yesterday night?" Minako asked politely. Morgana realized and shoved his head into the bag Minako had on her.  
After Morgana poked his head back out, a small red button-shaped object was between his teeth. He put it onto Minako's hands, and Minako smiled. "Thanks." Minako said. "No problem. This is my specialty anyway." Morgana said. Minako held onto the object tight and burned in hope for rage.

Before Minako slept last night, she secretly asked Morgana to created a bugging device that would pick up audio from a long distance, and she couldn't ask Fuuka because she was worried she might not do it because of its risks. Instead, she asked Morgana, and although he was initially annoyed that she woke him up, he agreed with it and went outside during the night to get the apparatus for the bug device.

"With this...your plan ends here, Ikutski..." Minako said as she opened the door to the stall and left. Morgana felt her rage and decided it'd be best if he kept himself quiet for now. They both left the bathroom, and Minako fake stretched like as if she just used a lot of strength just now. "You did taking a shit?" Mika asked. "First, rude. Second, yes. It was a pretty hard one in fact. Third, let's not waste any more time." Minako said as she went near the door to the chairman's office. Minako opened it and entered with Mika.

Ikutski was sitting on his desk, doing some paperwork until he saw the two girls. Morgana was hiding outside in the shadows, just like what Minako told her last night. "Morning, . We found a friend here yesterday who could use our help..." Mika said. Minako went closer and sat on the chair in front of his table. "Minako Arisato. Nice to meet you." Minako said as she reached out her hand, and Ikutski gladly shook it. "Welcome to the school, Minako. My name is Shuji Ikutski, the chairman of this school." Ikutski said. Minako gritted her teeth but managed to hold in her anger inside.

"Did you find her by yourself?" Ikutski asked Mika. Mika shook her head. "No, Ren and I were losing a battle, until she came in and helped." Minako bluffed. She had to get her involved somehow to get her into the dorm. Minako nodded. "I helped as much as I could, but that was my limit for that day." Minako said. Ikutski raised his eyebrows and smiled. "I see. And seeing how you didn't faint at your first awakening, this isn't the first time using your persona?" Ikutski said with his head on his hands. Minako flinched a little but managed to not swing at the curveball.

"No, I didn't even know that you faint after your first awakening. Perhaps that means I'm pretty strong?" Minako joked. Ikutski laughed and nodded. "Yes, perhaps you are. Now, I will try to enroll you from tomorrow, and I shall get you a room in the dorm." Ikutski said as he wrote a bunch of papers on a blank sheet of A4. Minako slammed the desk and gave a thumbs up. Ikutski stared at her in "what-the-hell-are-you-doing" way, but Minako smiled in response. "Why? I'm happy that I'll be joining Mika!" Minako said as she smiled. "Right?" Minako said as she looked towards Mika. Mika nodded happily.

"Now you can both leave because it seems like the bell will ring pretty soon. I'll inform Ms. Toriumi that you'll be a little late for class. Minako can go back to the dorm and rest for a bit." Ikutski said. "Got it." Mika said. "Okey-dokey." Minako said as she went out the door.

As they both left, Ikutski giggled a little and tapped on the table enjoyingly. "Well, well, well. Another persona user, the more benefit it has to me. The faster The Fall, then the faster my goal. The persona users are only my 'ingredient' to my experiment, nothing less than human material, which is going to be killed and disposed of soon after. Stupid kids, they'll never learn." Ikutski said as she laughed.

Outside, Minako was leaning against the door and recorded the entire conversation. She grinned, and put the recorder inside her pockets, and strolled down the stairs.

"Jesus...that was way too easy." Minako said as she smirked. "Whatever. The guy's dug his own grave. Right Morgana?" Minako asked Morgana, who nodded. "Guys like that should be paid a lesson, and for him, I don't think there's any other better way than death." Morgana said. Minako petted him in happiness. "That's my cat." Minako said.

* * *

Mika arrived at the classroom and looked around. "I actually made it in time, huh." Mika thought to herself. Ren was 'obviously' not here yet, because of 'obvious' reasons, and Junpei was there trying to pick up girls again, like always.

 _"Wait...where's Yukari?"_ Mika thought to herself. Now that she realized, she didn't see her in the dorm this morning either. "Maybe she's gone to do some morning errands. Eh. She doesn't seem to be the kind to get into trouble." Mika shrugged it off as Ms. Toriumi entered the class, along with Ren, who was shivering all the way to his desk.

Ms. Toriumi realized Ren's shivers and looked worried. "Are you alright?" Ms. Toriumi asked. Ren didn't respond and instead walked to his seat, still shivering. Ren sat down, and Mika poked Ren in the back, and Ren shook in his seat. "W-what?!" Ren said as he turned back to Mika with a traumatized eye. Mika flinched and shook her head. "Um, nothing." Mika said. Ren slowly turned around and shivered in his seat.

"God, now I feel guilty as hell..." Mika said as she sighed. Ms. Toriumi began roll call, and now starts another day of boring school for both of them. But time passed like a total lie, and within a blink of an eye, it was already lunch. Mika stretched in her chair, and Ren was finally getting somebody heats inside of him.

"So uh, how was 'that'?" Mika asked carefully. Ren shook his head vigorously after she even said that, and refused to answer. "Okay, Jesus..." Mika said. "But anyway, what are we going to do today?" Mika asked as she leaned on to her desk. Ren put his arms behind his head and tried to think of something to do. "Hey, but have you seen Yukari today?" Ren asked. Mika shook her head. "I haven't seen her since morning. I'm a bit worried actually." Mika said. Ren snickered. "Wow. I'm surprised." Ren said. Mika glared at Ren and crossed her arms. "I'm going to tell Mitsuru-senpai that you disrespected a woman." Mika said. Ren flailed his arms in apology and began swinging his head up and down in sorryness. "I'M SORRY I'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! WAHHHH!" Ren wailed out, as everyone in the class heard it. Ren froze on the spot and noticed the stares of his classmates that was inside the class, and Mika was trying to hold in her laugh.

Then suddenly, the class door banged open, and the person that came in was a guy with a swept back grayish black hair, black eyes, and a student council armband around his left arm. He looked around the classroom and noticed Ren sitting in his seat. He marched towards Ren and crossed his arm. Mika stood up in suspicion. "So, what does the Student Council want with Ren in this broad daylight?" Mika said with hands in her pocket. "Shut up, you." The boy said. Mika shook in shock and growled. "Anyway, putting the beige-haired mutt aside," The boy said as he turned back to Ren. "Ren Amamiya. I'm putting you under suspension for possession of tobacco in-campus." The boy said as he slammed a yellow sheet of paper that read 'Out-of-school suspension notice letter'. Ren stood up from his chair and glared at the boy.

"What the hell is this about?!" Ren said in shock. The boy looked away and turned his eyes to Ren. "Tsk. Brats like you never learn." The boy said as he began leaving the classroom. "Hey! What the hell! At least explain why!" Ren said. The boy turned back and faced Ren one more time before he left. "Oh. And if you do want to hold up a Desist form, you should talk to the president of the Student Council." The boy said. "The president...? Oh shit." Ren said as he couldn't bear to talk to Mitsuru for at least another day or so because of the execution.

Ren stood in defeat, as the boy left the classroom, whistling. Ren grabbed the paper and read it, and every word written on it was total BS. "'Found during the midnight of school...?' Where the hell did he even get this from?!" Ren said as he nearly crumbled up the letter. Mika stared at the door the boy left and twitched her eyes in rage. "I swear, if this was the dark hour I would've burned his goddamn coffin..." Mika said. Ren put a hand on her arm to calm her down. "I know you're mad, and I'm mad too. But I don't think being pissed off is going to get us anywhere." Ren said. "Let's look for some clues afterschool. How about it?" Ren said as he put his arms around Mika. Mika nodded. "Let's get this guy a yellow sheet of paper also!" Mika said with her fists pumped into the air. Ren laughed and nodded. "Yeah, but let's do it with 'reason'." Ren said as the bell began ringing, signaling that lunch is over.

Time passed once again like magic, and the clock was hitting 3 within a glimpse of the clock. The bell rang, and the composition teacher left the classroom and wished everyone to have a good day. Ren stood up from his chair and packed up, and was met with Mika, who came running to his desk, almost falling over. "Slow down, the yellow letter says we have a month that we can submit a Desist letter." Ren said as he picked up the paper. Mika read the paper and nodded. "Alright. But faster the better, am I right?" Mika said. "Yeah. But just don't trip and fall, got it?" Ren said. Mika nodded, and the two left the classroom.

As the two left, the boy was staring at them in dullness and walked back upstairs to the student council room. The boy gave a bitter and guilty 'Tsk' until he shook his head and headed up with a vengeful expression.

* * *

Gonna write the next chapter ASAP, ETA next thursday or so.


	11. Con:flict?

As soon as Ren and Mika left the classroom, hordes of students began charging out of the classrooms like a group of zombies. Mika and Ren struggled to stay together in the crowd, and they both agreed to meet each other when they escape this pool of schoolmates. Ren was slightly ahead of Mika, as he was going through the right side of the hallway, where there weren't a lot of students. When Ren was about to head to the stairs to the left, an arm suddenly grabbed him into the nearby classroom, and the door slammed in front of the horde. Mika couldn't hear this because there were thousands of loud voices around her, and about 3 slamming door sounds every second. Not suspecting anything, she went down the stairs, while Ren was about to have a 'conversation'.

The arm dragged Ren along the floor of the dim classroom with the tables and chairs arranged neatly in the edge of the room, and the arm threw Ren to the middle of the classroom. "Ugh..." Ren said as he rubbed his arms. "Was it really necessary to stop the blood flow in my arms for 20 seconds?" Ren said. Two footsteps got near him and stopped in front of his eyes. "So, trying to bail out of your crime?" A voice said. Ren recognized the voice but somehow couldn't recall. "Uh...This is a bit awkward, but who are you?" Ren said. Although Ren couldn't see his face, he looked a bit disappointed and shocked.

"h-How dare you do not remember your superior?!" The voice said. Ren still couldn't get a hint of who he was. "Nuh-uh. Still, don't know." Ren said. The person lifted a fist in the air, and Ren smirked until he realized he shouldn't do it because he's in the student council. "You are one load of thick paste to get through, aren't you?" The voice said as he kneeled down to Ren's point of view. Ren looked at his face and chuckled. "Darn, I was really close from you hitting me there. You almost got stuck in your own trap there, friend." Ren said as he stood up and dusted his uniform, but the boy behind him pressed him down on his shoulders, making Ren sit back down. "Sit down, you damn mongrel." The boy said. "As a student council rep, it's my authority to make sure you don't do anything dangerous to the other students." The boy said. "Oh, so framing me for smoking wasn't enough, so you're going to frame me for hitting someone else, something that YOU were going to do just now?!" Ren said as he stood up. "Well, I had enough of you guys. See ya!" Ren said as he walked towards the door, and the student blocked it.

"...I guess I should take the back door then." Ren said as he bent his direction towards the back door and walked until another student blocked it from him. Ren, a bit annoyed, looked at the student council representative. "Okay, what do you want..." Ren said as he took off his glasses and began wiping it furiously with his cloth. The boy snickered and crossed his arms. "Well, we were only trying to-"

"Nope, too late. I really don't care though." Ren said as he kicked the table which was holding multiple chairs, and the chairs fell between Ren and the Rep and his gang. The student council Rep tried to get to Ren but was blocked by the wave of the chair in front of him, and the two boys were too far away from him as they were guarding the doors. "YOU HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!" The boy said as he attempted to slap the chairs away from his legs, but failed miserably as the force of the chair was stronger than his hands. Ren opened the window, and witness the height in front of him.

"Around 10 meters..." Ren said, a bit hesitant. But he glanced a bit forwards and noticed something. "Well, isn't it my lucky day." Ren said as he smirked. He looked back, and the three guys, including the Rep, was struggling to clean the chairs that were blocking their path. "Think about it again, man! That ain't a good idea!" One of the guys behind the student council Rep. said. Ren jumped on the ledge of the window and turned to have one last look. They were nearly there, which meant that it was the curtain call for the show. Ren jumped straight out of the window, held his breath, and hoped for the best.

* * *

Mika continued to wait downstairs and she continuously began tapping her feet because of her impatience. The horde of students all left at this point and the ones that were coming out of the school were the ones that were just finished cleaning up the bathrooms or just stayed in school longer for some unknown reason. "Geez...where is he?" Mika said as she gritted her teeth and continued looking around until she saw something odd.

"Uh...what's with the haystack?" Mika said as she looked at Fuuka, who all of a sudden popped up out of nowhere and came rolling in with a cart full of hay. "Oh! It's for our biology class. I heard the teacher wanted me to bring it, so I'm taking it to the classroom!" Fuuka said energetically, although she sounded really fatigued from all that pulling. Mika sighed and helped her pull it. "Alright, I might as well-" Mika was about to pull it until a loud noise was heard behind the two girls. They both looked back in unison, and Fuuka gave a look onto Mika, and Mika nodded.

"THIS IS FUUKA'S HAYSTACK YOU PIECE OF SHIT! WHO ARE YOU!" Mika couldn't believe she just said that but nevertheless screamed as she jumped onto the cart and started pulling the haystack, which was also the OPPOSITE of what Fuuka wanted Mika to do to the haystack. Fuuka watched in horror as the haystack began flying everywhere in front of her eyes. Mika finally got a grasp onto his arms, and pulled him out, ready to blow a fist into his face.

"Woah, Woah! Wait!" Ren said as he covered his face with both his hands. Mika already raised her fists into the air and was about to break a few bones of his face if he didn't say anything. "Jesus Christ, what the hell are you doing here?!" Mika said as she gave a half shocked and half disappointed look on her face. Ren was about to say something until he heard a noise next to him. Mika also stopped and looked next to her, and the view wasn't something both expected.

Fuuka was sobbing because all of the hay that she worked hard to bring was all on the floor right now. "I-I..." Mika studdered, and Ren put a hand up to tell her to be quiet for now. Mika somehow agreed, and Ren hopped off the cart and walked towards Fuuka. Ren put a hand on Fuuka, and Fukka shook a little in surprise. "r-Ren?! But how?" Fuuka wasn't aware Ren was even here, as she only saw something land on her haystack, and when Mika began throwing the hay around, Fuuka didn't know what to do and began crying in hesitation of not knowing what to do. "Look, I think I told you this before already, but you've got to speak your heart out if you want something to happen. Staying silent isn't going to change anything, especially if it's something that's hurting you internally." Ren said. Fuuka put her head down, and Ren sighed. "Let's begin by putting that head up." Ren said as he put a hand on Fuuka's chin and raised it, which made Ren and Fuuka's eyes meet. "Look at those eyes, you have so much potential in you. Don't you remember when you literally crushed the opponent batters in that baseball game?" Ren said as he leaned against the cart. Fuuka nodded, but not in the right tempo. "Well, then why don't you act like you're the person who can get into the main squad of the baseball team?" Ren said. Fuuka looked a bit shocked and shook her head vigorously. "I-I don't know what you're talking about-!" Fuuka said. Ren shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You KNOW what I'm talking about." Ren said. Fuuka was about to speak, but Mika jumped off the cart and walked towards Fuuka, and tapped Ren on the shoulders. "I'll take it from here. You can clean up the mess you made over there." Mika said as she pointed backwards. "But you're the one who ripped through the haystack..." Ren said. "And you're the one that jumped off 10 meters into the air into one of Fuuka's job." Mika said. "I-Nevermind I'll explain it later..." Ren said defeated and walked towards the cart.

"Look, Fuuka." Mika said as she crossed her arms. "You're different compared to the other girls. You know why?" Mika said. Fuuka looked confused and shook her head. "Cus' you're a persona user, dummy. In fact, you're even a supporter, which means you get to do things that even Ren and I can't even do." Mika said. Fuuka looked at Mika straight in the eye, and Mika gave the warmest smile that she didn't even give to Ren. Ren, who was watching as he was organizing the hays, smiled at what he was seeing.

"Well, feel better yet?" Mika said as she put an arm around Fuuka. "Yeah." Fuuka said as she responded with a smile. Mika smiled back and nodded. "Well, then you have stacks of hay to get back to, don't ya?" Mika said as she looked back at the cart. "Hey! You done yet?" Mika screamed as Ren was struggling with some tangled hay. "Shut up!" Ren said to the top of his lungs as he continued to untie the hay like a ball of tangled earphones. "He looks like he needs our help." Fuuka said. Mika nodded. "I never did want to admit this, but I guess we need to help him. For now." Mika said. Fuuka was a bit confused on what those last two words meant, but she let it go and both of them went to help Ren.

The cleaning went pretty fast with 3 people at work at once, except for the fact that Fuuka had to listen in on Ren and Mika's arguments, sometimes even take sides on who's right, which Fuuka tried to talk her way out of, and somehow managed to at most of the times. After they all managed to clean it up, they all wiped their sweat and leaned against the wall of the school. Ren cleaned his glasses, as the increased body heat made his glasses fog. Mika just stared at the blue sky aimless and was breathing so hard that you could mistake that she's doing something else to herself. Fuuka was wiping her sweat with a handkerchief. Fuuka looked over at the two, and they looked dead tired from all the carrying and 'preventing-the-hay-from-flying-away' thing.

Fuuka offered Ren her handkerchief, and Ren nodded with thankfulness. As he was about to grab it, Mika leaned in front of Ren and grabbed it before Ren's sweaty hands could. "Mika...you...!" Ren was out of breath and couldn't even go against Mika this time. Mika was also in a similar situation, and she used most of her power just now to grab that handkerchief. Both of them called it quits, and continued to lean back against the cart. Fuuka smiled at the two and giggled a little. "You two are like siblings. So cute!" Fuuka said. "Well, I guess Mika's the little sister that you'd want to replace every second of your life." Ren said as she glared at Mika with his tired eyes. Mika snickered. "I guess we're on the same boat then." Mika said. Ren and Mika continued to shoot laser eyes at each other until Fuuka looked at her watch and noticed she was running late on time. She also found this as a chance to lessen the tension in the atmosphere right now.

"Um...I'm running late, so I might need to go..." Fuuka said as she stood up on both her feet. Ren and Mika both stood up like an old couple with knee joint problems and gave the most tiresome smiles that Fuuka has seen in her life. "Yeah...sure..." Mika said as she put her head on Ren's shoulders, and her sweat dripped onto Ren's shirt, which Ren swiped Mika's head away from his shoulders, and Mika just hung her head down for the rest of the conversation. "You can go first... we'll take care of ourselves." Ren said as he looked at Mika, who was about to pass out. Fuuka nodded worryingly but left towards the science department as she pulled the cart. Ren and Mika slowly made their way back to the dorm as they held onto each other for support, because they couldn't even walk properly by themselves due to the fatigue.

Ren and Mika held each other tight, and Ren was just hoping that he could get to the dorm as soon as possible so he could rest, and Mika, like last time, was noticing the energy intake in her body due to being in contact with Ren. Mika stole a glance at Ren and Ren began to look more and more tired. Mika hesitated to hold on to him because she was taking away his energy. She remembered last time after swimming, that she was able to take away Ren's energy through physical contact, and it was happening right now even though Mika didn't want it to happen. "Um..." Mika quietly said to Ren. Ren looked next to him, which was Mika looking down with a slight hint of guilt in her face. "...What's wrong?" Ren said in a noticeably tired voice. Mika fiddled with her left hand's finger a little (as she was using the right to hold onto Ren's shoulder), and she continued to hesitate to answer. Mika continued to do the same thing as she didn't know how to put this in words, and move away from Ren. Mika made a bit of distance away from him, which made Ren a bit confused.

"Uh...something up?" Ren said as he barely let out a breath. Mika nodded. "I was...draining your energy..." Mika mumbled quietly to the side, as she puffed her cheeks in irritation. "I just...didn't want to be a nuisance..." Mika said as she put her head down and began tapping her feet in a hasty manner. Ren rubbed his chin in thought. "So...you're acting cute...on purpose...?" Ren said as he talked and walked towards a nearby bench at the same time, as his energy was drained. Mika shuddered and shook her head. "n-No! I-I just become like this when I'm...embarrassed...and make a mistake..." Mika said as she continued to look dejected. Ren sighed and put a hand over both of his eyes in tiredness, then put his hands down to his knees, and looked at Mika straight in the eye with his tired iris looking at Mika's face.

"Augh...god..." Ren said as he stood back up on his feet and walked towards the direction of the dorm. "Uh..." Ren said as he kept trying to walk in a straight line. Mika looked at him in a curious way, wondering what's going on. "I thought his energy's going to stop draining...?" Mika said as she looked at Ren in a very worried manner. Ren was walking like an old man now, about few meters away from Ren. Then suddenly he tripped on a stone that he didn't see on the floor and was about to crush his face onto the warm and heated concrete sidewalk. "Shit...!" Mika quickly jumped forwards as fast as possible, and she found herself jumping several meters towards Ren, a speed she didn't even realize she could reach. She grabbed Ren by his back, and then by the back of his legs, and held him like a princess. Mika looked a bit disgusted that she had to pick him up in this position, but either way, she prevented Ren from smashing his skull to the floor.

Ren was suddenly fast asleep, and Mika held him quickly and laid him on a nearby bench. Mika didn't know what to do now because first, if she touches him again, then it might get to a point where he would die because of her. Second, no one was around here to help, because it was right after school and everyone was either at home or at school doing something else. Mika sat half a meter away from Ren and looked at the sky and contemplated.

Mika took a deep sigh towards the blue sky that was flocked with white milky clouds. She put both her hands behind her head and leaned back at the bench, and closed her eyes for a little while. She listened on to her surroundings: the trees around the park dancing around to the rhythm of the wind, kids playing with their parents...

...And the sound of Yukari and Junpei arguing in the distance like two siblings on an adventure. Mika could hear them from far away, and they both basically killed off the atmosphere as Mika could hear the parents telling the kids to stay away from them, and even the winds getting a bit stronger, to a point where it wasn't passing by the trees, it was practically slapping its force against them. Mika put her both her hands to her eyes and grunted in irritation.

"God...they just know when to perfectly ruin a moment, don't they..." Mika said as she continued to stare at her two hands that were blocking her view. Junpei and Yukari got closer to Mika soon enough, and Mika lowered her hands from her face and slowly turned around to look at Yukari and Junpei, who were still arguing while getting a tad bit closer to Mika and Ren's bench.

"What I'm saying is, you shouldn't just flirt with the seniors like they're in deep love with you or something, because that makes you look like a CREEP!" Yukari exclaimed towards Junpei. Junpei responded with a grunt while rubbing his cheeks with the red hand mark, presumably from the same senior he tried to flirt with. Junpei sighed and looked at Yukari with a tired face. "Geez, it was just a try...A man needs to try everything before he dies, you know?" Junpei said in a tired tone, which made Yukari thought he himself even considered what he just said was ridiculous.

"...Alright, fine... I guess you win this time..." Junpei said as he grabbed Yukari's wrists and raised it in the air. "h-Hey, what are you-" Yukari was cut off because of Junpei loud scream. "1 WIN FOR YUKARI TAKEBA!" Junpei screamed, and his voiced possibly reached the edge of Japan. Yukari looked around with a red face, panicked until she saw something very red coming towards Junpei.

"JUUUUUNNNNPPPPEIIIII!" Mika screamed as she was charging at Junpei at full speed, and Junpei yelped and let go of Yukari's wrists, and made a rush. "YOU'RE MAKING A GODDAMN SCENE WHEN REN IS ASLEEP YOU IDIOT!" Mika screamed as she continued to chase Junpei, to a point where they would both disappear into the distance. Yukari stopped for a moment to take everything. "Mika was making more of a scene then Junpei though..." Yukari said as she sighed and scratched her head in frustration, conflicted on how to explain this to Mitsuru-senpai if a student reports to her about a bunch of Gekkokan High School students causing a scene in the public park.

Yukari was continuing to think until she coincidentally saw Ren sitting on the bench, knocked out. She flinched in surprise, to see him with his head lying on the back of the bench. Yukari quickly ran towards where Ren was sitting and shook his shoulders around for a response. "Hey, are you okay?" Yukari asked in a rushed manner. Ren didn't respond for a brief moment until he groaned like an old man under his breath and finally opened his eyes.

"What happened?" Yukari asked as she finally relieved herself and sat next to Ren. Ren rubbed his eyes in tiredness and put his head back against the bench. "...Mika happened, that's all." Ren said. Yukari sighed as if she expected that answer. "Well, I'm not surprised, considering her behavior these days." Yukari said. "But she seems to be getting you in trouble a bit often these days. Are you sure you're okay with this?" Yukari said as she crossed both her arms. Ren nodded. "It's fine, you know, as long as she doesn't kill me." Ren said as he snickered. Yukari smiled with a bit of worry. "I guess you're right..." Yukari said as she looked up at the blue sky.

The two continued to look up until Ren decided it was better to leave now, as he didn't want to worry his senpais one more time. "I think it's better for us to leave now." Ren said as he picked himself up from the bench, and dusted his pants. Yukari nodded and stood up. "Say, do I even have your phone number?" Yukari asked. Ren looked at the sky in thought. "...I don't...think so." Ren responded with a fake laugh. Yukari scratched the back of her head and was kind of lost for words. "Geez, you or Junpei, you guys are both sometimes not much different from each other..." Yukari said. "Here. Give me your phone." Yukari said as she put her hand out. Ren dug into his pockets and gave Yukari his flip-phone. Yukari tapped on the phone for about a few seconds, and a short jingle came up, signaling that the contact was saved in Ren's phonebook.

"There. Hopefully, you don't lose your phone like Junpei did last week." Yukari said. Ren shook his head reluctantly. Yukari sighed in response. "Please don't be like Junpei..." Yukari said as she looked at Ren with an exhausted face. Ren laughed and nodded. "I'm just kidding." Ren said as he put a hand on Yukari's shoulders. Yukari was a bit surprised, but she slowly responded with a smile. "Yeah...I'm pretty sure you're-"

"I GOT YOU BITCH!" A scream was heard about a few meters away from Ren and Yukari. Another scream, a painful one, was heard a few seconds later, and both of them already knew what's up. Ren and Yukari both ran towards the source of the screams, and what they saw was mesmerizing at best.

Mika was holding down Junpei on the floor, and Junpei was struggling to get himself back up because Mika was pushing him down with full force. Mika continued growling until Ren ran towards her and tried to loosen her grip. Mika, unaware that Ren was already awake, was a bit surprised. "Wait, when did you-"

"Yukari took care of me while you chased Junpei for no good reason whatsoever..." Ren said as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess it's partially my fault...and also yours." Ren said. "Yeah! Ren, please save me from this-AHHH!" Junpei was cut off as Mika pulled his arm strength, and Yukari was behind Ren, secretely recording all this while trying to hide her laugh due to how ridiculous Junpei was looking like.

Ren knew enough is enough, and decided to take action. "Mika, I think we should go..." Ren said. Mika looked up at Ren with a bit of fury mixed in her eye and then gave a sigh. "...Fine." Mika said as she finally let go of Junpei's arms and legs. "...!...!...!" Junpei rolled around the floor silently (surprisingly not saying a single word, unlike his character), and also spasing out possibly due to Mika suddenly letting him go, which might've caused cramps all over his body. Ren cringed as Junpei wrestled the floor in pain, while Mika crossed her arms and was staring into the distance, and Yukari was recording it again, but with a bit more tension on her face.

"Can we go now?" Mika said as she looked at the time. Ren shook in surprise, as he was so into watching Junpei's movements. "Huh? Oh, right. Yeah, we should go now." Ren said as he looked back at Junpei, as his cramps seemed to get relieved. Ren looked at Yukari, and Yukari looked back. "Can you take care of him?" Ren said. Yukari sighed and nodded. "I guess..." Yukari said as she looked at Junpei, who was planking face-down onto the floor because of embarrassment. Yukari picked Junpei up by his left arm and signaled Ren and Mika to go back to the dorm. Ren and Mika both nodded, and Mika bowed towards Yukari to show her thanks. Yukari smiled and waved as they both went back to the dorm, then turned back to Junpei, who was mentally scarred from Mika's attacks just now.

* * *

Ren and Mika made their way back to the dorm, and as they opened the door, the two heard two loud noises coming from the living room of the dorm. As Ren was about to open the door, he stopped when he opened it about a 1/8th length, just enough to be able to look at through the door with one eye. "What is it?" Mika asked. Ren gave a finger on his lips, signaling her to be quiet. Mika followed his gesture and stayed silent. Mika went below Ren's head and began staring into the small space between the doors.

"Akihiko...this must stop." A voice said. It sounded like Mitsuru to both of them, and they could hear the TV playing in the background. "The more often you leave the dorm during the dark hour, the more often you get hurt." Mitsuru said as she was crossing her arms in frustration. Ren kept a close watch, while Mika continued staring without any thought. "What's the point..." Akihiko said as he stood up, presumably from a chair. Mitsuru snapped as Akihiko seemed to miss everything Mitsuru just said. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'POINT'? HAVE YOU IGNORED EVERYTHING I JUST TOLD YOU!?" Mitsuru exclaimed. The footsteps of Akihiko stopped, and there was silence for about a few seconds. "A child...huh." Akihiko said as he turned towards Mitsuru. He then laughed quietly to himself, then looked at Mitsuru with an angry glare.

"PROTECTING PEOPLE ISN'T SOMETHING THAT NORMAL KIDS DO!" Akihiko screamed. "WHY WON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Akihiko said as he threw his coat onto the floor in rage. At this point, Mitsuru was shaking in utter anger, but the more they argued, the weaker and more pained Mitsuru became. Ren and Mika gulped and watched, seeing how interrupting this will just make things worse. "Akihiko...I just..." Mitsuru said as she put her head down. "I just...wanted you to be safe..." Mitsuru said as she clenched her fists. But Akihiko completely rejected her feelings and responded with something that he shouldn't have said.

"Leave me alone for fuck sakes." Akihiko said. Mitsuru put her head up in shock, then her face turned from a surprised look to rage once again. "You...!" Mitsuru put her hand up high in the air and swung it across Akihiko's face. "DO YOU THINK I LIKE SEEING YOU GET HURT EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEK?" Mitsuru said with anger and disappointment mixed in her voice. Akihiko spat on the floor, which only worsened the situation. Mitsuru slapped him again, and this time with more emotion put into her hands. Both of them didn't say anything until Akihiko opened his mouth again. "Maybe Shinji was right all along...that you really are an idiot." Akihiko said as he was avoiding Mitsuru's gaze. Mitsuru couldn't open her mouth and instead was going for another swing.

"Ren...!" Mika whispered to Ren as she looked at Ren for an answer. Ren was looking in shock and helplessness and shook his head at Mika. "I...there's nothing we can do." Ren said. Mika looked at him in disbelief, then looked at the two senpais who were about to brawl in the middle of the living room. Mika gritted her teeth in irritation, then made up her mind.

Mitsuru's hand was about to go towards Akihiko's face, and Akihiko prepared for the worst. He looked hard on the outside but was soft like a half-boiled egg on the inside. "I'm..." Akihiko whispered under his breath as Mitsuru's final slap was coming towards him. "...Sorry." Akihiko said but wasn't heard by Mitsuru, who was already in a disarrayed situation. As the hand was about to hit Akihiko's face, it instead hit something else, or rather, someone else.

"..." Mika fell back towards the floor due to the shock of the slap. Akihiko looked back in surprise, as did Mitsuru, who widened her eyes in shock. Ren crashed through the door and ran towards Mika, and Mika slowly sat up and put a hand towards her cheeks, which was glowing red and bright. The three stood, except for Mika, for a solid minute, silent.

Akihiko looked at Mitsuru, who was in a slight shock of hitting her junior and confronted her. "Look what you've done." Akihiko said. "You hit your own member-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" Mika screamed as she was still on the floor with her hands on her cheeks, and Ren was gone to get medical supplies for the pain. Mika was turning red like last time, and she stood up on both her feet and looked at both of them in heat. "Mitsuru-senpai." Mika said as she looked at Mitsuru. "w-What?" Mitsuru said as she tried to stay calm, but Mika's look was frightening her a bit. "If you truly cared for Akihiko then you should've treated him like family, not a soldier. You let your emotions take over your actions, and now look what you did to my face." Mika said. "I..." Mitsuru was speechless and didn't know how to respond. "...Can't respond because everything I said was true? Right." Mika said in a sassy and cocky tone. But Mitsuru couldn't do anything because everything she said was indeed true. Mika then turned to Akihiko, who had a bit of a prideful look in his face, which made Mika's red glow more brightly. "And you. Snow hair." Mika said as she frowned. "You...!" Akihiko was about to go towards her until a hand blocked his way. "Who the hell-"

"Trust me, you shouldn't mess with this girl when she's mad." Minako said as she dropped her stuff onto the couch nearby and stopped Akihiko from getting anywhere near Mika. Mika crossed her arms and nodded. "At least someone in the room seems to have some logic." Mika said as she winked at Minako, who responded with a thumbs up. "Well, it's hard to believe, for you at least, but Mitsuru did this because she cares." Mika said as her red glow got a bit weaker. "If not, then she would've just let you roam around the city during the Dark Hour like a dog without a leesh." Mika said. "And trust me, as a person who nearly died two times during the Dark Hour, even with reinforcements, that's not the smartest life decision you can take." Mika said as she turned her back against both her senpais, and both of them stood in silence, hurt with facts.

Akihiko then left to the entrance of the dorm, and no one stopped him (for obvious reasons). Mitsuru then left to the bathroom, and Minako sat on the couch, tired. The TV was still on, and Morgana jumped on Minako's lap. "Something troubling you?" Morgana asked as he groomed himself. "Yeah...something isn't right." Minako said as she stared into the distance in thought. "What is it?" Morgana asked.

"If this is the same timeline, then Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai wouldn't be fighting...almost never." Minako thought to herself. "Is it because of Mika's existence that there are differences between what I experienced and what we're going to experience now?" Minako said internally once again, and Morgana looked at her in deep curiosity. "What is it, come on!" Morgana asked. Minako smiled and shook her head. "No, it's nothing. Just being a bit paranoid." Minako said as she patted Morgana on the head. "But I want to know..." Morgana said. "The curiosity killed the cat, Morgana. Remember that." Minako said. Morgana's fur stood up after she said that, and Morgana stood up tall and proud to pretend like he wasn't scared. "n-Nothing can kill this ca- I mean, human!" Morgana said. "You're clearly a cat, Morgana." Minako countered Morgana's statement. "I-"

"I miss anything so far?" Ren said as he walked over to the front of the TV. "Nope. Nothing too big." Minako said. "Except this little cat is trying to argue he's a human again." Minako said as she giggled. Morgana groaned in response. "I swear I will be the one making orders when I turn human..." Morgana said. Minako scratched Morgana's chin and Morgana accidentally purred. "Well? Seen any human that does that?" Minako said as she crossed her arms with confidence. "...Actually, Mika kinda likes that." Ren said. Minako and Morgana both looked at Ren with a surprised look. "What? Don't look at me like that, she's the one that told me, I never actually did that to her, alright?" Ren said.

"Did what to me again?" Mika said as she came back down the stairs. "Rub your chin like a cat." Morgana said. "Which is definitely not me." Morgana clarified. "Is this actually true?" Minako asked with genuine interest. Mika nodded. "Yeah." Mika said with the plainest answer in the entire history of mankind. The living room stayed silent except for the running sound of the TV. "...What, you want to know if I purr like a cat also?" Mika said with a look of disappointment. "I...no." Minako said, trying to get the group somehow get off this topic.

"Anyways, there's a ton of things we have to discuss." Mika said as she stood in front of the three persona users. "First, Ren's been targeted by a member of student council for use of tobacco in-campus." Mika said as she held up the sheet that the guy gave Ren. "I think I know who it is..." Minako said as she rubbed her chin. "Hidetoshi Odagiri. Harsh, strict, and pretty serious when it comes to doing his job." Minako explained. Mika, Ren, and Morgana continued to listen. "He's a member of the Disciplinary Committee. He would probably do anything to get his job done, breaking the rules or not." Minako said. "And I'm not surprised he's using Ren, because he's one of the new students so he would be more vulnerable." Minako said as she stood up and walked towards the TV.

"But one thing for sure, he doesn't have a persona. So we have the higher ground." Mika cut in. Minako nodded. "But how will we fix this is the problem..." Minako said as she looked a bit down in conflict. Ren smiled and dug his hands into his pocket, and took out the blue notebook.

"Pen's mightier than the sword, friends." Ren said as he flipped open the book. Mika nodded in agreement, while Minako and Morgana went to the kitchen to talk about their 'plan'. Ren and Mika continued discussing about their plans to take down the guy, but Ren also had to make sure Mika wasn't planning on killing him because that would cause more problems in the aftermath.

Meanwhile, the cat and the auburn-haired girl was discussing their plan to take down Ikutski. "Did you get the recording?" Morgana asked as he sat on the table of the kitchen. Minako grinned and shoved her hand inside her pockets with a prideful smile. In her hands was a grey recorder that Minako was shaking around with a bit too much confidence. Morgana nodded in satisfaction. "Right, right." Morgana said as he licked his paws. "But what are you planning to do with it?" Morgana asked. At the same time, Ren and Mika were cutting their discussion to see what Morgana and Minako were doing.

"Well, I'm planning to spread it to Mitsuru and Akihiko-senpai first, but-" Minako was about to finish her sentence until her confident shaking of the recorder brought karma upon her, and was about to crash into the floor. Not only that, it was in the pathway of where Mika was going to walk, so, therefore, Minako had to act quick. REAL QUICK, because she can't go into the chairman's office again without any good reason.

Minako quickly grabbed a roll of toilet paper nearby the table and threw it on below where the recorder was going to fall and prevented it from being damaged from the fall. "Yes!" Minako said as she clenched her hands into a fist in joy. But she then realized that Mika was in the path of the recorder, and Minako froze in the spot until Morgana quickly leaped forward and grabbed the recorder with his mouth, which surprised Mika and made her nearly fall on her back.

"w-What's going on?!" Mika asked, confused. Morgana went over to Minako and gave her the recorder back. "Here's your plan saved, miss." Morgana said. Minako forced a fake brave smile. "o-Of course! I already knew it was perfect." Minako said as she crossed her arms with forced confidence.

"Confidence aside...what even is in that?" Ren asked as he pointed at the recorder. Minako smiled, and this time it was real, and full of joy.

"This, kids, is the game changer." Minako said as she put the recorder on the table and pressed play.

* * *

 **Okay, that was probably the longest "next thursday" in the history of mankind...**

 **But to keep you guys up to date, I was busy studying for the IB, so I got extremely busy with academics.**

 **And then I started reading over the old chapters of this fanfic, and realized there were SO many mistakes prior to this chapter.**

 **I felt so bad and crap for making you guys go through this terrible grammar, and I'll always try to get the quality best as possible.**

 **Hopefully I post the next chapter at least less then 4 months (joke).**

 **Once again, I'll be answering the questions and suggestions in the reviews, so spam it as much as you want.**


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